


those deafening questions

by leovaldez



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Abusive Parents, Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, Developing Relationship, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Explicit Language, Grief/Mourning, High School, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, Minor Character Death, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Other Ships Not Mentioned in Tags, POV Alternating, Past Child Abuse, Past Rape/Non-con, Past Sexual Abuse, Piper McLean & Leo Valdez Friendship, References to Depression, Texting, but it's pretty normal for teenagers, but there's more writing than texts tbh
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-11
Updated: 2020-07-05
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:53:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 26,827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24102424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leovaldez/pseuds/leovaldez
Summary: Jason Grace was not at all acting like someone whose father had died last week. Leo was only mildly concerned with that fact.
Relationships: Jason Grace & Leo Valdez, Jason Grace/Leo Valdez
Comments: 59
Kudos: 75





	1. strike

**Author's Note:**

> Okay. This was difficult for me to do because of sensitive content. Any time I attempted to write this, I failed to and would delete the doc. This continued for about a year or two. I eventually got the right start, I think.
> 
> I'll do my best to tag anything the chapter it occurs, but there's nothing really explicit here for the most part. Otherwise, I'll tell you in the beginning notes. 
> 
> Thanks :)
> 
> \-->also thanks for reading my first draft pearl, lol we cry at lax jason :'((

**Leo**

The thing about Jason Grace was that Leo last talked to him over five years ago. Everything he knew about Jason was from when they were thirteen years old, and Leo knew all too well that a lot could change in five years.

Their friendship was one of those changes. It was completely organic- friends lose touch. Jason would wave to him in the halls, sometimes. Sometimes he didn’t. They saw each other at parties or shared classes, but their friendship had long dwindled to being mere acquaintances, a simple face in the crowd, and a quick _what’s he up to now_ , and the thought gets dismissed a few seconds later.

So, admittedly, it made sense for Drew Tanaka to give Leo the stink eye when Leo approached Jason in AP Biology before class officially started. Her glossy lips were pulled together in a sour pout, and her eyes screamed _What The FUCK Do You Think You’re Doing, Valdez?_ but she remained quiet when Jason turned to Leo.

“Hey,” Leo said. “Jason.”

Jason Grace looked surprised. He might’ve had the same thoughts going on the way Leo was right now, thinking about their childhood together. Or, like Drew, he could be confusingly disgusted with Leo coming to him. Regardless of what he thought, Jason sent him a friendly smile.

“Leo…?”

It just occurred to Leo how stupid he was right now. Couldn’t he have just texted Jason this? Leo _did_ have Jason’s number from a few years ago. Obviously, the guy could’ve changed it, but Leo would take the chances. This was embarrassing.

“What is it?” Drew snapped at him. She glared. “What do you want?”

“ _Yeah_ , I’m not talking to you,” Leo told her.

“You don’t get to talk to me like that!”

“Then mind your business.”

Smoke practically funneled out of Drew’s ears. “Why don’t you-”

“We can talk at your seat instead,” Jason interrupted. He stood and followed Leo to the back of the science lab. Drew, embarrassed and angry, cursed under her breath and pulled out her colorful pens for when class started.

Now sitting in his seat, Jason standing over him, Leo felt lost. Jason had blue eyes and cropped blond hair and wore cargo shorts with Adidas slides despite it being December. His sweatshirt from Supreme. God, this was definitely a mistake.

“So, what’s up?” Jason asked.

“I wanted to give my condolences.”

“What do you mean?”

“Um, your _dad?_ ” Leo said, puzzled. “You invited me to his funeral last Friday, but I never got the chance to say anything to you.”

“Oh. Yeah,” Jason nods slowly. “It’s fine. Sorry, I didn’t see you, though, I didn’t know you were invited.”

“I got the invitation in the mail.”

“Oh damn- forgot about that. Lupa must’ve grabbed your address from before. Sorry about that. You didn’t have to come, though. I’d get it.”

Leo watched Jason shift his weight from one leg to the other. Technically, the letter was sent to Leo's old address and was forwarded over by the new owners. “... It was your dad’s funeral. Of course, I would come.”

The bell rang, warning for a final minute until Bio began. The class grew louder by the second, and their teacher was almost done setting up her presentation for the day. From where he sat, Leo could see the back of Drew’s head, impatiently writing in Jason’s open notebook.

Jason stared at Leo in confusion. “Uh, thanks for going to that, Leo. I’m gonna go,” He thumbs back to his lab partner, “sorry about the impromptu invitation. I’ll tell Lupa to throw your address out.”

“Sure?” Leo said. Jason headed back to his seat just as the bell rang, and their teacher greeted the class. Echoing back a _Good Afternoon Ms. Minerva_ , Leo bit his pen, looking at the back of Jason’s skull. Sure, Annabeth Chase’s fat head and Malcolm Pace’s spiked hair blocked his view, but Leo saw enough.

Jason was giving Drew the side-eye and pushed his stool away while he tried to diligently take notes. His leg bounced up and down, jingling keys and a purple lanyard. His chin sat in his hand, and he glanced out the window occasionally.

It was a typical day- in fact, it was an extraordinarily regular Monday, with the same droning morning announcements, the school lunch offering the same cheeseburger it had for the past few months, Katie Gardner and Travis Stoll broke up _again_ the way they do every 2 weeks, and the third-floor girl’s bathroom was continuing its five-week-long shut down from weed fumes. It was a very normal Monday, except for one thing.

Jason Grace was not at all acting like someone whose father had died last week.

* * *

**Jason**

To say he was surprised by Leo Valdez coming up to him in biology was an understatement. Frankly, it disrupted Jason’s entire day. He couldn’t concentrate.

After being told to rest on the side by his coach, Jason heaved, wiping his sweat with his hand. The wrestling room was stuffy and smelled of sweat and feet. Jason gulped down some cold water offered by their team manager and surveyed his weight group sprawling out against a mat.

“What the fuck is up with you?” Octavian asked him. He was a spindly little dude, barely passing the lowest weight class, and honestly would’ve unnerved the hell out of Jason if they hadn’t been friends during high school. Something about Octavian wasn’t _quite_ right, but he was an excellent study buddy and knew how to get free alcohol. Not that Jason drank- but it was a good asset when Jason was invited to parties, and Octavian was not.

“Nothing.”

Octavian’s icy blue eyes neared gray. “You just got your ass handed to you by _Dakota_. That’s _embarrassing_.”

“He’s a big dude.” Jason stood up. “I’m going to the locker rooms. Tell coach if he asks.”

“As if he cares about the biggest loser here.”

Jason had to give it to Octavian- while no one’s ever _allowed_ to be a dick, Octavian’s expected to be one, and he fulfills that expectation plentiful. Jason heads to the locker room to use the bathrooms.

On his way back, he stops to fill up his water bottle. A couple of guys sprint past him in the hall, laughing loudly. One of them screamed _OH SHIT WAIT_ as he turned the corner. The other, Leo Valdez, had glanced back at Jason, making hasty eye contact, before slamming into his friend at the end of the corridor.

The two were promptly yelled at- and this was easy to discern from the unbridled anger and sheer volume- Coach Hedge for running through the halls after school. Jason nosily listened in, catching the end of their reprimanding (YOU ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO RUN IN MY HALLS AFTER-) until a slam of a heavy door cut Jason off. Coach Hedge must’ve pushed them into his office.

At seeing Leo again, Jason was reminded about their earlier conversation. During class, he ran through the quick talk a few times, wondering if he said anything weird. Leo sure looked at him like he did, but Jason couldn’t figure it out. But when Jason decided to talk to the guy at the end of class- Leo was gone.

“Your water is spilling, Jason,” a high-pitched voice chirped at him, and Jason cursed and moved from pressing on the water fountain. Valentina, a freshman who volunteered to be the wrestling team’s manager, stood in front of him with a metal cart stolen from the library to push around water bottles. She preened at him with a blush and filled up the closest bottle at the lower level water fountain.

Jason was about to head back when Valentina cleared her throat. Jason stared at her, not sure what he wanted.

She cleared her throat again and glanced at the empty bottles. “Ahem.”

“Need help?” Jason asked.

“That’ll be appreciated!” She beamed at him like it was his idea. Jason grabbed a few bottles and filled them up at the higher level water fountain. He was lucky that today’s practice wasn’t in his singlet; otherwise, he would feel _very_ awkward standing all sweaty in front of this girl checking him out right now.

“What were you thinking about?” She capped a bottle, switching it for an empty one.

“Nothing.”

“Nothing?”

“ _Nothing_.” Valentina stops trying and pulls out her phone. She lowers the volume as she giggles about something on Instagram.

As Jason filled the water bottles, he wondered about Leo Valdez. If he had to be honest, the name hardly crossed his mind over the past few years. They were always friends, Jason assumed. They might’ve lost touch, but maybe Leo didn’t feel that way? He _did_ come to the funeral, even if Jason didn’t see him. That counted for something, whether Jason knew what that something meant.

He picked up another bottle. He’ll have to thank Leo again sooner or later. His late father at least taught him to do that much.

* * *

**Leo**

Leo only met Jupiter Grace a handful of times. When he and Jason were close, he would go to Jason’s house- _mansion_ really- to play video games because Jason owned every console, and they quickly learned that Aunt Rosa didn’t like uninvited nine-year-olds popping up at her house.

Jupiter Grace was rarely home. To compensate, some old lady named Lupa was placed as Jason’s nanny, and Leo knew more about her than Jason’s father. Jason’s step-mother, Juno Grace, was around sometimes, but Jason didn’t like her very much, so they always stayed on separate wings- Leo recognized how ridiculous that was- of the house.

From what Leo could remember, Jupiter Grace was someone who valued good grades and graces over compassion. He could recall shouting, but nothing too extreme than the typical rich people father-son relationships he saw on TV. Jason respected his father, and Leo respected the man’s money. People with money the way the Graces have _know_ their shit.

That is what Leo was reminded of when he got a text from Jason at 10:48 PM.

**Jason:** Heyyyy  
  
**Jason:** Thanks for coming to my wake  
  
**Jason:** Dad’s* LOL 😆  
  
**Leo:** No prob.  
  
**Jason:** Why’d you come tho 🤔  
  
**Jason:** No one else from school came  
  


In all honesty, Leo _didn’t_ know why he came. When he got a letter from the Graces, Leo was surprised. Then he opened it, and the information told him what the news reports already told him: that Jupiter Grace had passed earlier in the week from a heart attack, but added along with a location, time, and date.

Jason wasn’t in school that week, so Leo never had the chance to ask if he was wanted. When Friday afternoon came around, and it was quarter to five, Leo pulled out his darkest blacks, a pair of church pants he didn’t go to church in and a black turtleneck, and headed to the funeral parlor to offer his condolences.

Jason was right. Leo, Jason, and a few baby Grace cousins were the youngest ones there. The rest of the mourners were in their mid-to-late 50's and dressed in identity masking sunglasses and stuffy expensive clothing. Leo said a prayer by the casket and left after the eulogies, feeling unusually uncomfortable even for a wake.

**Leo:** It’s polite. He was still your dad.  
  
**Jason:** Ok  
  
**Jason:** Did u stop by the burial and reception on saturday? I might’ve saw you  
  
**Leo:** No. I had work, and we’re not really friends anymore  
  
**Jason:** We’re not? 😰😥  
  
**Leo:** I don’t think so?  
  
**Jason:** Oh  
  
**Jason:** Do u WANT to be friends? 😂  
  


**Unknown Number:** Yo this is Ethan, your Uber Eats driver with your food. Can you buzz me in the building?  
  


Leo dropped his phone and waited by the door for his pizza. When he came back, a pepperoni slice in hand, his phone was still vibrating.

**Jason:** So   
  
**Jason:** There’s a party tmrw if u wanna come with  
  
**Jason:** I know its a tues, but Sherman got his license and his dad is in the hospital so hes house is free  
  
**Jason:** To clarify, wer’e celebrating the license not the hospital. His dads okay LOL 😂  
  
**Leo:** It sounds like a party isn’t his best interest.  
  
**Jason:** 😝 I’m 78% positive its also his gfs birthday so that could be it  
  
**Leo:** Yeah, Miranda’s. I was going anyway. I’m friends with Travis.  
  
**Jason:** What?  
  
**Leo:** Travis and Katie are dating, and Katie and Miranda are sisters.  
  
**Jason:** 🤔 I thought they broke up tho  
  
**Leo:** He’s planning something to get her back at the party.  
  
**Leo:** They broke up on Sunday, and he wants her back already.  
  
**Jason:** Lit, haha he’s so whipped tho 😂😂😝😜🤪  
  
**Jason:** So u cmng?  
  
**Leo:** Yep  
  
**Jason:** Bet, see u there 🤪🎉  
  


Leo chewed on another slice, wondering if Jason was going to text again. After a few minutes of his phone being silent, Leo put his phone in his pocket and went back to editing his English essay, turning the TV on. For a second, Leo pondered how the conversation about Jason’s father flipped to a house party.

That was weird, wasn’t it? But then a laugh track from a late-night sitcom interrupted his concentration, and Leo groaned, realizing he was spilling pizza sauce on his laptop, so the thought was cleared from his mind as soon as it came.

* * *

**Jason**

Jason debated not doing his homework and using his dead father as an excuse. He ultimately did his homework because he was too well-trained to do otherwise. After his conversation with Leo, Jason took a shower and laid in his bed, scrolling mindlessly through his apps.

There was a knock on the door. Thalia came in, not bothering to wait for an answer, with her hand clamped over her eyes, and her other hand searching out into the air.

“If you’re masturbating, put it away,” she warned.

“You interrupted _me_ ,” Jason told her, and Thalia laughed and dropped her hands. She stood a few feet from his bed, looking around his room. It hasn’t changed from the last time she was home, but because she was home so rarely, Thalia always looked around. Her left hand fell on the back of Jason’s chair at his computer desk.

“How’re you holding up, Jason?”

Jason was currently looking to see if Leo had any social media. He was happy to be newly acquainted with his old childhood friend. When the Graces moved to the East Coast, Leo was Jason’s first friend. So far, it seemed like Leo was off the grid, except for a wayward Facebook account belonging to a 67-year-old Leo Valdez with five kids and a parakeet. “I’m good. You?”

“I’m okay,” Thalia took a shaky breath, leaning on the chair. Her skirt rode up, exposing her ripped fishnets even more. “I told my professors I’ll see them after the break, so I’ll be here for the rest of the month. Juno’s crying downstairs, and she’s-”

“Shrill.”

Thalia gave a tight-lipped smile. “Yeah.” She bounced off the chair and approached, trying to catch a glimpse of Jason’s screen. “What are you doing?”

“Looking for someone.” Leo wasn’t on Twitter, or at least didn’t give any clues that he had one. Jason switched to Snapchat, wondering if he could add Leo by phone number. It didn’t click.

“Who?” Thalia sat on the bed.

“Leo Valdez. We used to be friends in elementary school.”

Thalia’s lip curled up, and her eyebrows pinched together. “Is that the one who spilled Mountain Dew on the Nolan rug, and Juno lost her shit?”

“No, that was Piper,” Jason responded. That was another name Jason didn’t think about it a while. He wondered what happened to her. “Leo’s the reason why we have an in-ground pool instead of an above one.”

Thalia snorted at the memory, and then then the chuckling blew into loud laughter. “Oh, fuck, haha, now I remember. I liked him when he wasn’t perving on my friends. How’d he turn out?”

“He’s mellowed out. Oh, I found him,” Jason sat up. He was on Instagram. Rather than searching, Jason went through his followers from school and followed that way. It was a ridiculous trail from Percy, to Nico, to Hazel, to Frank, to Dakota, to Gwen, to Michael K, who only had 10 followers and followed about three times more in meme accounts, so he backtracked to Frank, to Clarisse, to a Chris R who was on private, so he followed and went _back_ to Hazel, who had a rather large following, and found a Lester P, who _also_ had a huge following, to Will S, back to Nico, and it was _then_ when Jason realized that Nico was only following about fifteen people anyway, so he scrolled through that and found the one account Jason didn’t know.

Luckily, Leo’s bio had his name (.-.. . --- / ...-), their school CHB, and their graduating class year. Jason almost followed, and then realized it was 11:30 and that would look weird. Hearing a snicker as his finger hovered over the button, Jason shut his phone off and dropped in on the mattress.

“Do you _need_ something? Why are you still here?” Jason’s face felt hot.

“Nope,” Thalia stood. “Just checking up on you.” She reached over to pat Jason’s head, but her hand went past where Jason was expecting, and she grabbed his phone. Jason shot off the bed, and she cackled as she ran across the room, madly typing in his passcode.

“What is _wrong_ with you?” Jason grabbed at her arm, but she was nimble and slipped away. She laughed, jumping on the bed, and Jason clambered after her.

“Done,” she fell down, crisscrossed, with a wide grin. Leo’s account, @ **y0urm0mle0** , was clearly sporting a **Following** , and a Followed by **stole.trav** , **ghostking69** , and 8 others.

“ _Thalia_ ,” Jason stressed, moaning into his mattress. Leo probably thought he was creepy now.

“If it’s such a big deal, then unfollow him.” Thalia grabbed his phone.

“Wait no-” Thalia already clicked it. She looked up, quizzically, and then pressed follow again. “What?” she asked. Clicked it again. Following. Unfollowing. Following. Unfollowing. “You don’t like this?” Following. Unfollowing. “Is he going to see this, Jason?” Following. Unfollowing. She began to press faster.

“ _Stooooooop_ ,” Jason snatched his phone away before she could do more damage. Would Leo see that? Maybe Instagram didn’t register so much following in such a short time? “Get out of my _rooooom. Leave!_ ”

“Haha, okay, okay- I'm out,” Thalia eventually started moving when Jason began beating her with his pillows. “Glad to see you’re alright after all that’s happened.”

“Get OUT!” Jason threw his pillow, and she laughed, closing the door.

Jason stared at his phone, scared to get a message he was being blocked or reported. No such thing. Leo must’ve been sleeping. He scrolled through @ **y0urm0mle0**. There were only seven posts, the last one coming from over the past July, 5 months ago. It was an unfiltered picture of a cupcake and a lit candle on a table. _the big one seven y’all_ , read the caption on July 7th with only 32 likes and 16 birthday wishes. Leo only had about 50 followers anyway- almost all kids from middle school or the people Jason’s seen hanging around him at school.

**stole.trav** hppy bday stupid, wanna go shopping??? i have a discount ;)  
**> y0urm0mle0 ** @stole.trav if you say five-finger discount, i’m blocking you  
**> > connnnnorstolls ** @y0urm0mle0 u didn’t say no tho, pick u up at 6  
**the.apollo** HAPPY BIRTHDAY LEO, check my story  
**> y0urm0mle0 ** @the.apollo thx, i liked it a lot  
**> > the.apollo ** @y0urm0mle0 Of course you did, duh it was my voice  
**> >> y0urm0mle0 ** @the.apollo Why were you born like this?  
**> >>> the.apollo ** @y0urm0mle0 😘  
**princessofdiamxnds** hbd leo 💖🎉🎉🎉  
**> y0urm0mle0 ** @princessofdiamxnds thank u haze  
**> > princessofdiamxnds ** @y0urm0mle0 🥰  
**c.ogygia 😊 🤱📅, 👌🏻. 1️⃣7️⃣ ,🍼❕**  
**> y0urm0mle0 ** @c.ogygia lol thanks but i hate that

It went on like that for a bit. Leo’s other posts are like that. The earliest post was from Leo’s freshman year and was a picture of his school ID next to a Grover U., where they both looked stoned out of their minds. Jason scrolled back to the top to double-check if he was following or not when a red heart popped up.

He liked something.

Jason quickly unliked. Then liked it because what kind of signal would that send? He checked the time, and it was already past midnight. He spent a lot of time reading through Leo’s comments and posts. Jason then unliked it because wouldn’t liking another guy’s post at midnight be weird? Granted, he and Leo had a past, but that would’ve been weird _regardless_.

Jason turned off his phone and got up to turn off the lights. When he slithered back in bed, he took off his glasses and unlocked his phone again to check for any forgotten messages.

And unliked. And then liked again.

* * *

**Leo**

Leo didn’t even want to _know_ why he had 37 notifications from an app he barely used, by a person he didn’t know. Whoever @ **_pontifex_maximus** was, they were going to be blocked in the morning, regardless.

His phone dinged again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> will post ch 2 tomorrow, or possibly even later tonight :)


	2. asa akira

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i wasn't joking, i had this chapter ready, i realized there was a lot less html to deal with. the next chapter has a lot and im a little worried.
> 
> Asa Akira is a pornstar, to save any of you from looking her up. Unless you want to, which is none of my business. I posted a link to the (SFW) picture reference, if you're so inclined, at the end of the chap.

**Leo**

Sherman Yang cooked a chicken for a house party, and that was the funniest thing Leo had ever heard. It was an _entire_ chicken for no goddamn reason, but it was baked to perfection and smelled delicious. The only reason why Leo knew this was because someone sat the chicken on a fragile china plate, propped up to greet party goers when one walked into the main bathroom on the ground level.

“I’m gonna do it,” Travis was hyping himself up next to Leo. His hand was crushed around a soda can, Diet Sprite, which Travis didn’t even like. But everyone knew _Katie_ liked diet sodas and despised drunks, and everyone knew that Travis liked Katie. “I’m gonna get her back tonight. I swear, I will. Fuck, I’m gonna do it.”

“Why can’t you jerk off like everyone else?”

Travis visibly drooped like a sad puppy. “Don’t even _say_ that, Leo. I haven’t touched a sock in days, and yesterday that was _all_ I could think about. You know my Batman socks? The black ones? They’re white now.”

Leo choked. “Thanks for that image.” 

Across the room, Katie chatted with Miranda, who wore a plastic crown, and glitter. Every few seconds, Katie would glance over by Travis, and the most recent look was tough to discern with the dim lighting and far distance, but could best (and very loosely) be described as a _come hither_. Regardless of what it actually meant, the look seemed to give Travis precisely what he needed. He handed Leo his nearly full can. “She _so_ wants me. You can dump that. I’m going in.” Travis slicked back his hair and got lost in the party throng.

“And we never saw him again,” Leo snickered to himself. It was getting too hot for him, but he caught a whiff of something, a strong smell underlying the sweat, chicken (that was still fucking hilarious), spilled wine colors, and perfume. Leo used his minimal detective skills and headed downstairs.

The Yang basement was decked out with a Foosball table, a dartboard, a wide flat screen currently showcasing one of the Star Wars movies, leather recliners, and massive mahogany bookshelves. There were balloons blown up all over the floor, except for the one a tipsy Rachel Elizabeth Dare and flat-out drunk Julia Fletcher batted back and forth, and a pile of presents shoved to the side.

Leo slipped past all that and into the laundry room on the side of the stairs. There we go. Grover, Percy, and Annabeth stood by some of the exposed piping, eating cake. Sitting on the washing machine, Nico had his eyes closed as he leaned against Will, who was sharing a blunt with Calypso. He should’ve known the girl would be here. When they arrived together with Apollo, she disappeared the moment she saw Grover. Leo lost Apollo a little later.

“Give me some,” Leo urged her. Calypso rolled her eyes and handed it over. Leo took a hit and sighed, draping his arms over her shoulders. “Where’s the cake?”

“Upstairs,” Nico said, eyes still closed.

“Thanks,” Leo waited for his turn to take another hit, answered Annabeth’s question about their upcoming math quiz, and then headed back upstairs. To his delight, the chicken was still by the bathroom, and it was still absolutely mystifying and gut-busting. 

In the kitchen- Leo assumed that’s where the cake would be and realized he should’ve gotten _‘upstairs’_ clarified- Leo bumped into Jason. Literally- he said excuse me to someone who pushed into him anyway, grabbed what was closest to him, and then Jason’s shirt was covered with orange soda. 

“Shit, my fault,” Leo patted Jason’s wet chest. “Have you seen the cake?”

“It’s in the fridge,” Jason seemed bewildered. It was the first time they talked since yesterday. Leo avoided him through school today, or maybe it was reversed, but either way, when Leo woke up this morning, he knew that something was off, and he and Jason weren’t meant to be friends again. This was an easy decision to make from all the notifications.

“Okay, thanks,” Leo shooed away Miranda and Sherman, who were making out in front of the fridge, despite it being Miranda’s 18th and Sherman’s house. Leo pulled out the chocolate cake, moaning at the thought of just shoving it in his mouth right now. “It should’ve been in the, um, the um, freezer? It’s ice cream.”

Leo just grabbed one of the plastic forks lying on the counters and started eating it. “Want some?” he offered Jason the utensil.

“Are you high?”

“Nah. Just a little. Nothing much. Like a baby high.”

Jason pulled at his sticky shirt, disgusted. Oh shit, Leo did that, he almost forgot. “You have any shirts I can borrow?” Jason asked Sherman. A cheer rippled from the living room, and the music was blasted five times louder than before. A popular bass-heavy song echoed in Leo’s ears and he felt woozy. Did Calypso give him bad weed or was he having a bad trip?

Sherman looked disgruntled from being interrupted again. Miranda wasn’t wearing shoes, but her legs were wrapped around his waist as she sat on the counter. His hand was up her tight sweater. “Upstairs, third room to the left. And take short stack with you.”

“Jason’s not short though,” Leo picked up his cake. Jason laughed and guided Leo out of the kitchen with a hand on his back. “Why are you laughing at me, short stack?”

That only made Jason laugh harder. “Come on, Leo. I'll tell you later.”

* * *

**Jason**

Upstairs was quieter. Someone spilled glitter down the staircase, which was unfortunately carpeted. Besides a group of friends singing in a corner, the hallway only reverberated with the beat from downstairs. 

Sherman’s bedroom was the only door unlocked anyway. Leo checked every time they passed by a door. Though with the lazy way he swiped his hand against the doorknobs, Jason doubted Leo was actually turning anything. He hummed along to the song the friend group was singing as he finished off the cake.

“I love TLC,” Leo sang louder, but then he forget the words halfway through, went _hHHHHhmmHM_ , and then started all over again.

The lights were an angry red, lighting up the bedroom with fury. Sherman’s clothes were tossed out from his closet and strewn along the floor. Leo sat on the full-sized bed, gazing at the posters along the walls. On his desk, Sherman had a hastily opened box of condoms and a plate with leftover grapes. 

Jason picked through the clothes on the floor. The mattress wheezed when Leo rolled onto his back and started laughing.

“Oh my God, is that Asa Akira,” Leo laughed harder, gripping his sides.

“Who?”

“She’s a- _you know_.” He started wheezing.

Jason pulled on a black T-shirt that he found. He sat on the other side of the bed and laid down as well to see what Leo was talking about. Taped to the ceiling was a printed out image of an older Asian woman wearing glasses and her butt sticking out in itty-bitty shorts and a gray tank top. Her seductive eyes stared at Jason over black-framed glasses. While he didn’t know her name, Jason recognized her.

Leo’s wheezing turned into coughs, and he eventually calmed down. “Ah,” he drummed his fingers on his belly, next to Jason’s head. “She’s hot. But Miranda looks nothing like her,” which set Leo off into another fit of ugly chortling.

Miranda Gardner, Sherman’s girlfriend of two years now, was a junior with muddy green eyes, more freckles than uncovered skin, and long wavy hair like hay. Jason didn’t really know her, but once Sherman brought in a baggie of brownies that she baked, that was incredible.

“Do you like girls like that?” Jason asked. Miranda wasn’t his type- she was too soft-spoken and overly feminine.

“My porn is whatever gets me off. I’m not particular to race or gender, you racist.” Leo snorted.

“Not Asa, I meant Miranda.”

“Still applies.” Leo shrugged against the blanket underneath them. “How about you?”

Jason flipped his head to look at him. Leo hummed his TLC song again, face squinched as he gawked at the woman on the ceiling. He had round coal-dark eyes and warm brown skin like almonds. Jason sighed, rubbing the heels of his palms into his eyes. They’ve had this discussion before, a long time ago, and he wondered if Leo was thinking the same way as him.

“I don’t know yet. Maybe someone funny?”

“Whatever. You probably like MILF’s.”

“Not really.”

“Trust me, you do.” Leo sat up. “Oh, where’s Apollo? God, he’s always ditching me and shit. What time is it? He’s my ride. It’s a school night, man, fuck.”

Jason checked his phone, still lying down. “It’s a little after 12. Do you need a ride? You don’t live that far if I remember correctly, and I’m sober.”

“I moved,” Leo spat out. He sucked on his fork for a second. “Yeah, sure, why not? You’re not gonna chop me up and mark me as your next victim, are you?”

“Maybe a little cutting up.”

Leo blinked down at him and then snorted. “Okay, but treat my body parts right.”

“Always.”

* * *

**Leo**

It pissed Leo off to an immeasurable amount that Jason was seventeen and ducking drove a one-year-old model Mercedes Benz. It screamed rich, but inadvertently so as if to minimize how rich Jason actually was. But Leo knew just how much that car was downplaying the Grace’s wealth.

The car was worth its money, though. Leo almost orgasmed when he settled in the comfortable seats, and the engine quietly vibrated into perfection. It didn't help that the drugs were kicking in. He felt very serene. Jason asked him for an address, and spoke to the navigation system, repeating his every word. 

“Oh, Percy lives in the same complex,” Jason said when he recognized the address. “Do you guys see each other?”

“Sometimes,” Leo shifted around his seatbelt. “Percy Jackson, right?”

“Know any other Percy’s?”

“ _Such_ a stupid name.” 

“It’s a nickname.”

“That’s worse. Percival?”

“Perseus.” The noise the car made when Jason put up his turn signal was so sexy to Leo. They sat at a stoplight. Jason was playing R&B at a low volume, Leo not knowing if that was something he usually listened to or he put it on for Leo. “He’s my cousin, you know? But he loves Aunt Sally, so he doesn’t complain about his name as much.”

“Percy Jackson is a _Grace_?”

“A Jackson. His dad and my dad were brothers. Nico and Hazel are my cousins too.”

Leo tried to picture that medley of kids at the Grace mansion. He couldn’t see it. Percy was poor- that’s why they lived in the same shitty apartment building. Nico and Hazel were rich too, not in the same way Jason was but rich enough, but none of their characteristics matched Jason. They all had black hair like Jason’s sister, but that was it.

Leo had a cousin once. Raphael. He would be about thirteen now.

“Pull over,” Leo abruptly demanded.

“What?”

“Just do it, fuck, ugh,” and Jason slowly pulled out to the side of the road. Leo opened the car door and threw up in the grass. He heard a door slam, and Jason was at his side, rubbing his back. 

“Leo! Are you okay?” Jason asked as Leo wiped the bile from his face. “Was it a bad trip? I don’t take drugs, but I’ve heard about-”

“Yeah, something like that,” Leo sat on the curb. The smell of his own throw up was nauseating, but there wasn’t anything left in his body. Jason looked green and held his hoodie over his nose, but stood by his side. A few cars passed by, and the wind began to seep through his army jacket when Leo stood up. He winced at the vomit that splattered on the back wheel and side. “Sorry, I’ll pay for that.”

“It’s fine,” Jason said awkwardly. “Do you need to go to a hospital?”

“No,” Leo rolled his eyes. “I’m just tired. I can walk home from here. Thanks for the ride.”

For a second, it seemed like Jason was going to let him, but his eyes shifted from the sick to Leo’s swaying body. “I’ll drive you home. I want to make sure you get home properly.”

His place was almost four miles away. Leo’s walked more, but it was getting late, and Jason was offering. “Fine,” Leo went back into the car. He closed the door and watched Jason jog around the car. Luckily, the inside of the car still smelled like Jason’s pine air freshener. The aroma made Leo’s stomach lurch, but he didn’t feel like he needed to puke again. 

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Jason turned to him. He reached over into the glove compartment and handed Leo some hand wipes. They were dry, but Leo appreciated the gesture. “I’ll sit with you in the hospital.”

“You overreact, Jason,” Leo said. “All I need is to sleep it off.”

Jason didn’t look too convinced, but he waited for his opportunity to merge back into traffic and continue en route. When they pulled up to the apartment building, Leo unbuckled his seat belt. 

“Thanks for dropping me off. If you see Apollo, feel free to beat him up for me.” Leo grumbled the last part. He loved Lester, but the guy’s ego and flightiness were ridiculous. How he, Calypso, and Leo ended up being so close was beyond him. 

“Okay,” Jason unlocked the door for him. “Feel better.” He added. “And see you in school later.”

Leo was probably going to skip today and call out sick for work, but he said, “sure,” and exited the car. Fumbling with his keys to the building’s front door, Leo turned back, and Jason waved at him and then drove away. _Such_ a sexy car, Leo thought and stepped inside. 

* * *

**Jason**

**Jason:** Did u get in ok?  
  
**Leo:** Yeah, thanks again.  
  
**Leo:** I’m going to go shower, it’s almost 2.  
  
**Leo:** See you later, Jason  
  
**Jason:** K, good nite 😋  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [sherman's ceiling pic who taped for... purposes (sfw)](https://i.pinimg.com/236x/63/00/88/630088a04ef3d481c35e46c44714505b--asa.jpg)


	3. selfie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> apollo being an influencer was a really good idea

**Jason**

The next time Jason saw Leo at school was on Thursday. When Leo didn’t come to school Wednesday, he was worried about him but didn’t text for fear of being overbearing. He almost called his cousin to check if any ambulances came to his apartment building, but he and Percy weren’t really close, and that would be too random.

Thankfully, Jason also happened to share Gym with Leo as his third class of the day, and Leo chose not to skip for the first time in weeks. They were supposed to do five laps around the track, and Grace placed Jason farther away from the S, T, and V’s. 

It was a degree higher than snow temperature. Hedge said that if they ran, then they wouldn’t freeze. After audible groans, he let them run with their coats.

Leo was fast. Even since they were kids, and this was only enhanced during high school. But he didn’t like doing things when he was told, _especially_ when it came from Coach Hedge (everyone knew this, even Hedge), so Leo slowly walked in the back with a friend. After Jason’s final lap, rather than walking off to the bleachers like everyone else who finished, he jogged to catch up to Leo. Reyna gave him a weird look but continued to the bleachers.

“Hey,” He slowed down in front of them, walking backward. The girl walking with Leo raised an eyebrow. She tapped her shared Airpod- Jason assumed the other Leo had- with her long honey-colored hair lifting up to share a glimpse of a multi-pierced ear. Jason didn’t use the word _sexy_ to describe people his age, but something about her was beguilingly sexy.

Leo also looked confused at Jason’s arrival. “Um, hi?”

“How are you? Feeling better?” Jason asked, worried. “I missed you yesterday.”

“I’m good.”

“Nice. Cool.” Jason agreed. “I was going to text you.”

“Oh, it was fine.”

“I’m sorry, but am I invisible?” the girl interjected. She gave Jason a bored look. “Who are you?”

“Um, I’m Jason?” It was rare to find someone in town who _didn’t_ know who he was. “We’ve been in Gym together this entire time.”

“I’ve never seen you before in my life,” she said. The girl’s white jacket looked new, but her sweatpants were worn. She had bright clean Air Force Ones. “Are you two friends or do you normally ask about random people? You never asked me about how I was.”

“How are you?” Jason hopelessly said, and Leo snickered, covering it by wiping under his eye.

“I’m good, Jason, how are you?”

“Stop it,” Leo elbowed her. He was amused, but offered Jason an apologetic smile. “Calypso has this thing called chronic bitch syndrome. She’s sweet, I swear.”

“I did not hear that,” Calypso said.

Jason laughed, not sure what else to do. “What lap are you guys on?”

“Three.” Calypso said. Leo nodded behind Jason, where Coach Hedge was checking in people’s times. Most of the class was done running, except for some of their slower or walking classmates. Clovis, in particular, looked like he was in the middle of a mid-day stroll.

“We’re going to tell Hedge that we finished,” Leo explained. “He’s too busy counting everyone else, so he barely notices when we do it.”

“It’s a careful process,” Calypso added. “Only works with certain criteria.”

Whatever that criteria was, neither elaborated and headed to Coach Hedge with neutral faces. Jason hung back, watching their movements, and then Leo and Calypso slipped past and walked off the track to the bleachers.

Jason jogged up to them. “How’d you do that?”

“Dude, your mile time is 7 minutes. You don’t need to worry about it,” Leo shook his head like Jason asked a stupid question. “It’s okay that you actually do the work in class. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

Calypso held her hand out, and Leo handed back her other Airpod. They left Jason standing there, as they walked back to the rest of the class. 

“Why are you standing there?” Reyna asked him, handing Jason his water bottle. The metal was cold. Jason breathed over his hands, shivering.

“Do you know anything about Leo Valdez?”

Reyna regarded him strangely. It was a weird and random question. “... A few things. We’ve shared a few classes, and Octavian doesn’t like him. Why are you asking?”

“I’m curious,” Jason admitted. “Can you tell me about him?”

Coach Hedge blew his whistle as them and used his megaphone to call the class together for the next activity. Reyna pursed her lips. “Maybe later, Jason.”

They hurried to the congregating class, where Coach Hedge was happily telling them their next unit would be tennis in the snow.

* * *

**Leo**

Apollo looked good as a blond. He bleached his hair over the summer as a part of his “glow up” and encouraged Leo to do the same, but Leo quickly assured him that the action was not necessary. His roots were coming in brown again, though. 

“I’m going to write you a song one day,” Apollo lazily strummed another chord. His guitar was hand painted courtesy of Rachel Elizabeth Dare, with a big yellow sun on the body and puffy white clouds. He was currently lying down next to Leo, who was trying his best to get through their English homework. 

Apollo liked to bother Leo whenever he pleased. He was clingy but pretended he wasn’t. So when Leo texted him that he was just doing homework, Apollo packed his guitar and drove over. At least he brought Subways over too. 

“Would you talk to me when I’m famous?” Apollo started playing the beginning chords to an Avril Lavigne song. “We could live togetheeeer.”

“No way,” Leo laughed. “You don’t even know how to do your laundry. I’m not some housewife for you.”

“You wouldn’t be a housewife,” Apollo stated in a matter-of-factly tone. “You’d be my roommate who shares a bed, and the audience would go _‘will they or won’t they’_ and there would be too much UST, despite me being a global superstar and you do whatever you do when I’m not around.”

“UST?”

“Unresolved sexual tension.”

“Oh my God,” Leo laughed and hit Apollo’s face with his notebook. “Get out of my house. You’re not welcomed here anymore.”

Apollo stopped playing and sat up. “Aw, you don’t mean that. Besides, Artie’s home and pissy, and Will sucks.”

Artie (Artemis) was Apollo’s (Lester’s) twin sister. Leo’s met her a few times, and she was indeed pissy. She went to a private all-girls school up north, so Apollo didn’t see her very often, but they argued whenever they were together. Will (just Will) was Apollo’s (still Lester) little brother. Will thought Apollo was embarrassing, and Leo definitely agreed. Leo became friends with Apollo _through_ Will actually- he was friends with Nico, who at the time, was friends with Will.

“Let me sleepover,” Apollo pleaded with big puppy-dog eyes. When Leo met him, he had a _lot_ of stubborn acne. But as a part of Apollo’s glow up, most of his acne cleared up, except for a sparse sprinkling by his jaw. Still, he was attractive, with soft hair and dreamy eyes. 

Leo remembered Apollo asked something. “You can stay if you pay rent.”

“I can drive you to school tomorrow,” Apollo countered. “And you could make breakfast to thank me.”

“This doesn’t sound like a fair trade to me.”

Leo’s phone vibrated, but Apollo grabbed it first. He unlocked it and read the message. “Oh, it’s Piper.” He tossed it to Leo and went back to playing on his guitar again, once more, disregarding the homework sitting on Leo’s bed, which is what he originally _came for_.

**Piper:** hey, been a while Leo  
  
**Piper:** what’s up?  
  
**Leo:** Yo  
  
**Leo:** Nothing much, you? I saw that announcement for your dad, sounds sweet  
  
**Piper:** it’s his first native role. not Cherokee, but close enough. his agent is trying to fight for it to be changed to Cherokee though  
  
**Leo:** That sounds awesome  
  
**Piper:** fuck yeah, I hope it works out for him. even though it’s a smaller role from the last movie, my dad wants to start playing native only roles. he’s going on a podcast about it tomorrow, actually  
  
**Leo:** Dope. Send me the link  
  
**Piper:** will do :)  
  
**Piper:** how have you been?  
  
**Leo:** Good. You’ll never guess who’s trying to talk to me now. 🙄  
  
**Piper:** who?  
  
**Leo:** Jason fucking Grace.  
  
**Piper:** you’re fucking kidding.  
  
**Piper:** what? but you’re not even friends with him anymore.  
  
**Leo:** Right? He’s being so weird? Talking to me during class? Texting me?  
  
**Piper:** how is he? is Jason the same as middle school?  
  
**Leo:** Idek. His dad passed away last week.  
  
**Piper:** shit. my condolences. can you send that along? I’ll have Jane send some flowers over.  
  
**Leo:** Okay. But you know what’s the weirdest thing? He’s not even in mourning.  
  
**Piper:** people mourn in different ways?  
  
**Leo:** No, but this is like, next level apathy. Almost as if it was some stranger who died?  
  
**Piper:** you don’t know what’s going on in his house.  
  
**Piper:** and didn’t Jason have a weird relationship with his dad anyway?  
  
**Piper:** weren’t they always fighting?  
  
**Leo:** Maybe? Idk, but even if family fucks up, they’re still family.   
  
**Leo:** You can hate them and wish them dead, but they’re definitely still family? This feels really wrong.   
  
**Piper:** ://// you and Jason come from different backgrounds. you don’t know his situation.  
  
**Leo:** I guess.   
  
**Leo:** Hold on.  
  


“What are you doing?” Leo asked Apollo. Apollo left the bedroom somewhere in between _who?_ and _Jason fucking Grace_ , and was now coming back expertly jamming out _Every Rose Has It’s Thorn_ by Poison. However, he came back with a friend. Leo’s pet cat was draped over Apollo’s neck like a feather boa as Apollo sauntered about. “He doesn’t like that.”

“You don’t speak animal.” 

“No but I speak from _experience_.” As if cued, Leo’s cat suddenly hissed and scrambled off Apollo and darted out the room. 

Apollo stops playing entirely, his jaw open. “I’ll be back.” He then follows after the cat, beckoning for it. Leo could hear the hissing and snarling from where he was. 

**Leo:** Sorry, my friend is over and is messing with Festus.   
  
**Piper:** send more pics, I fucking love animals   
  
**Leo:** Pics of my friend’s face getting clawed off or of Festus lying around?  
  
**Piper:** what kind of question is that? both.  
  
**Piper:** send a pic of Jason too, if you can. i always wondered if he’d grow up hot or if his peak was 7th grade.  
  
**Leo:** He’s not UGLY…  
  
**Piper:** that’s so unfair, don’t tell me Jason is rich, smart, AND hot. where’s the karma?  
  
**Leo:** You’re rich, smart, and hot.  
  
**Piper:** that’s different. Jason’s white, he doesn’t need that leg up.  
  
**Leo:** 💀  
  
**Leo:** I’ll try and grab a current picture for you.  
  
**Piper:** thanks you’re the best :)  
  


Leo heard something crash in the other room just then, so he cursed out Apollo in his head and headed to see the damage. In the kitchen, a box of cereal spilled over the floor, Festus sitting in the fridge and Apollo threateningly waving a giant spoon at the cat.

“I hate your cat,” Apollo said, and then Festus jumped at him. Leo slowly backed away into the hall. 

**Leo:** I can get you the Festus and his victim pics in a few minutes actually   
  
**Piper:** excellent.  
  


* * *

**Jason**

For dinner, the chef served steak. Jason also got mashed potatoes and a salad. Juno's meal was similar except her potato was baked and steaming. Thalia's plate replaced her salad with broccoli and her mashed potatoes with french fries.

Only two people were eating dinner. Jason wished Thalia told him she was skipping out because he would've skipped with him. At one end of the table, Juno ate quietly. Her steak knife scraped against her plate as she cut up her food. 

"Jason, your food is getting cold. You should eat." She eventually said. When Jason didn't eat anything, her voice took a sterner tone. "Jason. Eat."

He picked up his fork and started the salad. 

Juno made a noise of approval and reached forward to pour herself some more wine. The red color gleamed neon to Jason. He ate faster. 

"How is school? Winter break is coming up." Juno asked.

"Fine," Jason answered.

"Do you want to go on vacation this year? We can ski in Switzerland if you'd like. You liked skiing growing up, didn't you? I'll arrange a trip."

"Would Thalia and Lupa come?"

Juno's fork paused in front of her mouth. "Of course not. That stupid girl… I don't need her running off in Europe." She ate more of her salad. "We can bring Lupa if you want, though I assume she would rather spend time with her family."

Jason propped his cheek on his fist and spun his fork, in-between his fingers. "I don't want to go to the Alps. Can't we stay at home?"

"Elbows off the table," She scolded, and Jason sat up straight. Her forehead creased as she looked across the table at her step-son. "Winter break is for vacations, not staying home. How about Fiji?"

Winter break was for _family_. Jason's been to plenty of countries- he didn't need another one to add to his list. It was his last winter vacation before college, and he'd rather stay and watch movies with Thalia. It was silly to complain about, but he was tired of being dragged around the world.

Octavian was an only child and spent his vacations, Facetiming Jason about wanting to be away from his parents. Jason didn't have that problem, but when he did, it wasn't in the same way Octavian did. Alternatively, Reyna lived with her sister, and they always invited Jason over to join them ice skating or shopping. They didn't celebrate Christmas (neither did Jason, while Octavian was Catholic and went to Mass), so Jason always saw posts about Reyna and her sister hiking in the snow or drinking hot cocoa. _That's_ what Jason yearned for: not the Swiss mountains or Fiji beaches.

But Juno wasn't someone who cared about Jason's opinion. He figured that out a long time ago. So he held his tongue and kept eating.

Juno reached for a roll. Jason finished his salad and moved to the rest of his food. It was quiet except for the clatter of silverware. Their staff should be on their way out by now, and Lupa would be working on laundry currently. 

Jason sighed. His watch vibrated, and the noise made him jump. It was Leo. He slid his phone from his pocket.

**Leo:** Hey, can I ask a favor?  
  


"No phones at the table," Juno said sharply. Jason pushed his chair out and picked up his dishes. 

"I was done eating." He said and went toward the kitchen. Grabbing an apple, Jason headed toward his room upstairs, texting with one hand.

**Jason:** What's the favor? 🧐  
  
**Leo:** Can you send a pic or something?  
  
**Jason:** Whyyyyyyyy 😂  
  
**Leo:** Do you remember Piper McLean? We used to all be best friends a while back.  
  
**Jason:** Yuh  
  
**Jason:** What hppened 2 her? She ok?  
  
**Leo:** Oh, she moved to LA in eighth grade because of her dad. We still text and stuff.  
  
**Jason:** Cooolio. U wanma send her a pic of me?  
  
**Leo:** Yeah. She sent me one to send to you. I can also give her your # if you want.  
  
**Jason:** Kk, one sec.  
  


Jason flicked through his photo albums, biting into his apple. What is a picture that you send to someone you haven't seen in years? And Leo would see it too, so it'll be humiliating if Leo saw something extra poised or exaggerated. 

He settled on a picture he screenshotted from Annabeth's Snapchat. It was a selfie the two shared back in October, with the dog filter over their faces. Jason thought it was funny when he screenshotted it. He sent it to Leo while lying on his bed. It took a second but then:

**Leo:** Lol  
  


What did _that_ mean? Jason rolled on his stomach, staring at the text. His fingers hovered over the keyboard, dumbfounded at how to respond.

**Leo:** Here’s Piper, by the way.  
  


Jason clicked open the image and was bombarded with memories of Piper McLean. 

The Piper McLean he was presented with had silky black hair overflowing over her shoulder and a dazzlingly bright smile. Her dark eyes sparkled like she knew something he didn't, and her cheeks were painted with tiny rectangles of orange, pink, and white stripes. Glitter sprinkles over her hair and shirt.

**Jason:** She's pretty 😍  
  
**Leo:** Lol. I'll tell her but I don't think she'll appreciate how you wrote that.  
  
**Jason:** Wdym?  
  
**Leo:** Don't worry about it.  
  
**Leo:** She said you look good too. If we could video chat at some point and catch up, that'll be fun.  
  
**Jason:** K, let's do it them  
  
**Jason:** Then"  
  
**Leo:** Ok  
  
**Jason:** Send me a pic of you tho  
  
**Leo:** Why? You know what I look like.  
  
**Jason:** I need something for your contact  
  
**Leo:** No you don't.  
  
**Jason:** Pleeeeeeeassssse? For me 🥺 🙏🏻  
  
**Leo:** 😒   
  


Jason waited, but nothing ever came. Maybe he shouldn't have asked? He didn't realize Leo was so adverse to pictures of himself. Octavian and Nico were both like that. Tossing his apple core in his trash can, Jason got up to shower and brush his teeth before he went to bed. 

Crap. And he ended a perfectly good conversation too. 

* * *

**Leo**

Leo stared at his phone. Why did Jason even want a picture of him? They saw each other at school every day. 

Apollo came back into the bedroom. He was wearing one of Leo's T-shirts and his own boxers. "I'm turning off the lights." He did so and then jumped on the bed.

"Ow," Leo whined, slapping at his friend's giant body. "Get off of me, you're fucking heavy."

The reflection of Leo's phone caught Apollo's eye. He was like a freaking bird, always jumping to what was shiny. "Jason Grace?" Apollo read. He picked the phone up from Leo's limo hand. 

"Get _off_." Leo couldn't breathe. He pushed Apollo away and rolled to the other side of the bed, counting to catch his breath. It took a while, but his breathing began to stabilize. Apollo didn't know when to quit. 

"We should send him a selfie," Apollo said, already on the other side of the room. He turned the lights back on and combed his fingers through his hair. "How do I look?"

"It doesn't matter," Leo huffed, still irritated from the stunt a few seconds earlier. He took his phone book, fingers shaking. "It's not about you."

Apollo crawled behind Leo, chin on his head. He was touchy, too much so, and craved contact every 5 minutes. 

Leo took the picture anyway, and Apollo looked at it and deleted it instantly.

"It's all about the _angle_ ," Apollo began to preach as he swiveled around the bedroom with Leo's phone. "This is why I have millions of followers, and you only have fifty-six."

Leo peered at Apollo's movements with little interest. Festus squirmed from under the bed to Apollo's feet. "How do you manage to bring that up in every conversation?"

"Because I'm important, and people should know it," Apollo scoffed. "Come here, the lightning looks better this way, and your posters make a good background."

"I don't think Jason cares," Leo said. He stood next to Apollo. "Just take the picture."

Apollo positioned Leo in front of him and raised his arm, trying to figure out how to fit them both in. He must be ignoring the fact that it was supposed to be a picture only with Leo. Or he could be relishing in the perfect selfie opportunity because Leo so rarely took them.

He took a few pictures and went through them, but seems them all awful. Leo tapped his foot, waiting for his phone back. He squatted down to pet Festus. The cat bristled and looped between Apollo's bare legs.

"Okay, come up here," Apollo positioned then again. "Try not to have a booger again."

"What?" Leo wiped at his face, laughing. He hit Apollo's chest. "You should've told me. This would've gone quicker."

Apollo's grin grew more expansive, and he dropped his hand. "This is good. I'm going to send the picture to Jason. You should post this."

Leo took his phone back and looked at the picture. It _was_ better- it was clear that even with a phone camera and crappy lightning, that Apollo had some skill. He deserved his massive following (maybe not the giant ego, though). 

Leo sent the picture and listened to Apollo's advice about posting it. He tagged Apollo (@ **the.apollo** ) and followed Jason back (@_ **pontifex_maximus** ). Then Leo turned the lights off and climbed under the sheets. 

Apollo was a morning shower person, so he smelled like Leo's cheap laundry detergent and that distinct Subway's bread smell. A bright light glowed across Apollo's face, and he sheepishly turned the brightness down on his phone. 

"I'm thinking of a number between 1 and 30-"

"Shut _up_ and go to sleep," Leo turned away from Apollo, closing his eyes. "And it was 7. It's _always_ seven."

Apollo gasped. " _Witchcraft._ "

* * *

**Jason**

Jason was going to sleep when his phone vibrated again. Leo sent him a picture.

He wasn’t alone. Leo was mid-laugh, all joy and happiness. Seeing that expression on his friend’s face made the corners of Jason’s lip curl upward. The other guy was familiar to Jason, but he couldn’t place it. He was grinning down at Leo, way too pleased with himself. To Jason, he seemed snotty. In a strange way, he felt a little of _Octavian_ in the guy. Jason downloaded the picture and cropped Leo’s face to update his contact like he said he would. 

Jason’s phone vibrated again. A follower notification from Instagram. @ **y0urm0mle0** followed him back. Satisfied with the new contact, and the follow request, Jason almost turned his phone off, when a new post popped up. 

Leo posted the same picture he sent Leo. _he won’t stop bragging_ was the caption. There were already a few likes and 3 comments. Curiously, Jason checked who was tagged in the picture. 

> the.apollo  
>  **510** Posts, **498k** Followers, **24** Following  
>  lester solace ☀️😎  
>  call me lester and perish mortal.  
>  “some people are so much sunshine to the square inch” -walt whitman  
>  Followed by **pineetree1** , **percyjcksn** and **37 others**

Jason looked through Apollo’s feed. It was pretty clear from the selfies and artistic pictures, he was an influencer. There were a few videos Jason looked at too. Usually, someone else recorded, and Apollo would sit in his bedroom and sing while playing a ukulele, guitar, or keyboard. In a couple of videos, there was a girl with a singing voice like a whisper, hauntingly intermingling with Apollo’s voice like magic. She was tagged @ **thehuntersband** and @ **artemis154** , the latter leading to her personal account with a close 356k followers. 

Jason followed Apollo, liked and commented on Leo’s picture. It was only 11:24 PM.

**c.ogygia** god i hate that man @the.apollo, go to antarctica and never come back. safe travels. 🏃💨💨  
**> the.apollo** @c.ogygia ily2 bby 😘😘  
**ghostking69** leo, i SWEAR, i can SEE the fucking book on the floor, give it BACK you can’t even READ. ITS BEEN THREE YEARS  
**piper.mclean** your selfie skills have improved, young padawan.  
**> piper.mclean** @piper.mclean it’s okay, I would block me too if I saw that reference. I get it. do what you have to do. 😔  
**_pontifex_maximus** cool pic 👍🏻  


Cool pic 👍🏻. Cool pic 👍🏻. Cool pic 👍🏻. What the hell? He was overthinking it (maybe), but that was _it_? Everyone else had something funny to say, or in Nico’s case, a mildly irritated comment (Nico’s just like that), but it was all something that Leo would be entertained by. 

It sucked to see that he and Leo used to be best friends and now all Jason could say is _“cool pic 👍🏻.”_ Jason decided not to dwell on it too long and clicked on @ **piper.mclean** to follow her. Almost a few seconds later, she DM’ed him.

**Messages with** piper.mclean  
  
**piper.mclean** yo!!!! Jason Grace?  
  
**_pontifex_maximus** Yuppp  
  
**piper.mclean** fuck, it’s been forever.  
  
**_pontifex_maximus** Yeah, its crazyyyy 🤪  
  
**_pontifex_maximus** How u been?  
  
**piper.mclean** I’m alright, you?  
  
**_pontifex_maximus** Good now :)))) 😜😜  
  
**piper.mclean** um  
  
**piper.mclean** how’s your sister? she was really cool back then.  
  
**_pontifex_maximus** She’s good too :)))  
  
**_pontifex_maximus** What happened to you in middle school? You just disappeared  
  
**piper.mclean** leo didn’t tell you? it must’ve been after you stopped speaking  
  
**_pontifex_maximus** Y  
  
**piper.mclean** my dad got a role in that sitcom a few years back? remember that one about the roommates?  
  
**_pontifex_maximus** Oh damn that’s 🔥🔥🔥  
  
**_pontifex_maximus** I liked that one episode where the girlfriend moved in but she unpacked all that creepy stuff  
  
**piper.mclean** yeah, funny story: that really creepy painting of the girl on one of the walls was something I drew when I was six  
  
**piper.mclean** my dad said he HAD to have it there lol  
  
**piper.mclean** you wouldn’t happen to know a drew, actually?  
  
**_pontifex_maximus** Which one?  
  
**piper.mclean** drew Tanaka. Japanese, kinda tall, lots of makeup, a lil bitchy but relatively tolerable.  
  
**_pontifex_maximus** 😭  
  
**_pontifex_maximus** That’s every girl ever LOL 🤣  
  
**_pontifex_maximus** But yeah, why  
  
**piper.mclean** I remember she sent me a pic once saying she got a new bf, but I was scrolling through your posts and it’s just you. there’s a pic of you two together at a party or something back in 10th grade.  
  
**_pontifex_maximus** 😂😂😂😂  
  
**_pontifex_maximus** I can’t believe she did that  
  
**_pontifex_maximus** Drew isn’t that bad, ngl 🥵🔥💦💦  
  
**_pontifex_maximus** But seriously? 😑  
  
**piper.mclean** it was a little funny because I didn’t believe her back then. dw about it now, she’s not into you  
  
**piper.mclean** or guys lol  
  
**_pontifex_maximus** Hmm ok  
  
**_pontifex_maximus** How do you know Drew?  
  
**piper.mclean** step-sisters. my dad and her mom got together.   
  
**piper.mclean** but i live with my dad in LA, while drew lives with her mom over there.   
  
**piper.mclean** it’s complicated.  
  
**_pontifex_maximus** Oh ok  
  
**piper.mclean** so you and Leo are back together?  
  
**_pontifex_maximus** We’re freinds I think 😝  
  
**piper.mclean** that’s good  
  
**_pontifex_maximus** Friends*  
  
**piper.mclean** neither of you explained what happened when you stopped being friends in 8th  
  
**piper.mclean** it was so weird. you just didn’t eat lunch with us anymore and Leo didn’t want to talk about it  
  
**_pontifex_maximus** 😬 He didn’t tell you?   
  
**piper.mclean** no.  
  
**_pontifex_maximus** That’s crazyyyy   
  
**_pontifex_maximus** Def thought he would lol  
  
**_pontifex_maximus** It’s in the past tho :))))) dw about it, we’re good 👍🏻  
  
**piper.mclean** fair. what sparked this newfound friendship?  
  
**_pontifex_maximus** Uh, idk  
  
**_pontifex_maximus** Just wanted to reconnect again ig 🥴, don’t need a reason  
  
**_pontifex_maximus** It’s getting late, what time is it for you?  
  
**piper.mclean** 10ish  
  
**_pontifex_maximus** It’s 1ish for me LOL 😂  
  
**_pontifex_maximus** Talk later?  
  
**piper.mclean** yeah. see you Jason  
  
**_pontifex_maximus** goodnight :)))) 😜😩🌝  
  


He got tagged in a photo. It was Piper, who posted an old memory of himself, her, and Leo smiling at a camera. Jason’s eyes were red from the flash, and Leo had a cast on his arm. Jason’s mental photo album placed it at around 3rd grade, so they had to be about 8 or 9. Piper’s caption was _throwback thursday to when I thought overalls were cute. jk they still are_. Already a couple hundred likes and a few comments. It must be different being the daughter of an actor. 

**_pontifex_maximus** How did you guys let me walk around with that haircut? 😵  
**> piper.mclean** @_pontifex_maximus you’re telling me bud… but puberty treated you nicely, so does it really matter?  


Jason blushed, putting away his phone to charge. He stared at the ceiling. Hm. Piper McLean. 

Was it crazy for Jason to want to go back to him being 8 and being best friends with those two? He fell asleep on the thought. 


	4. sleepover

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know we're getting a tv adaption. if we even reach tlh, maybe we'd get some more valgrace fans to take after me lol. honestly, i would kill to see tlh adapted, i wanna see khione, and lit with his dumb anime sword, and that iconic jason scene where he blasts the giant with lightning. ... and you know MEDEA, i love talking about that fun mall
> 
> Anyway, on a more serious note, we're starting to get into it. Slower than I ever would've thought (which means the fic is getting longer), but we're starting to get into the serious stuff.

**Leo**

It was almost a week after the funeral when Leo realized he never asked how Jason was feeling. 

Leo already felt weird about Jason as it was. He was being overly friendly and rubbed Leo the wrong way- friendly people aren't usually _just_ friendly. Jason wanted something from him, but Leo didn't know what yet.

"You're quiet," Nico said. 

Leo snapped back to the real world. He didn't know how he even _got_ to thinking about Jason. Five seconds ago, he was shoveling french fries into a red container.

"Nico," Leo sighed. "Get off the counter. I'm not supposed to be talking to customers like this."

Nico did not move. He offered Leo a fry, and when he passed, Nico ate it himself. He was _really_ into those fries. "There's no one here."

"It's McDonald's. Someone's going to come sooner or later." Leo rolled his eyes. For a Saturday, it was slow. Granted, it was currently snowing, albeit lightly, and it was 2 AM. "Silena already thinks it's weird that you eat here every day in the middle of the night. She said to recommend the apple slices."

"How long ago was that?"

Leo's face scrunched up, "Fuck, I don't know, man? Last month, maybe? You eat here too much."

"I like it. At least I'm paying for it."

"You're literally paying for my apartment," Leo sighed again, tapping his foot. "Maybe you _should_ eat some apples."

"Remember when they came with caramel?" Nico hastily wiped his hands on his thighs and licked his fingertips. "You wouldn't happen to have any of that behind that counter?"

"Behind the counter you're not supposed to sit on? No. Move- _look,_ you left an ass stain!"

One of the doors on the far side of the restaurant opened, sending the brisk air into the restaurant. A young woman and a teenager walked in, arguing over something. Leo internally groaned because _what are the chances?_

"Leo?" Jason was all wide-eyed and surprised behind foggy glasses. "What are you doing here?"

It took a lot for him to not say something snarky. He was sure the name tag, hat, and McDonald's branded shirt answered the question, nevermind Leo standing on the opposite side of the counter. 

Nico slid his tray by the other register. "Hey, Thalia."

"Hey," Jason's sister patted Jason's shoulder, and Thalia and Nico headed towards the seating area. 

"So are you going to order or…?" Leo gave Jason a strained smile. It was hard enough working at such an early hour, but Jason standing there like a dope wasn't helpful either.

"Yeah, I mean- yeah." Jason stammered, gazing up at the menu. "One second."

Leo tried not to be annoyed. Most people ordered the same thing when they came in. Leo would not be surprised if Jason had never physically been inside a McDonald's. 

"What's it like working here?" 

"Are you going to order?" Leo pressed.

"Yep, right," Jason flushed and went back to scrutinizing the menu. A minute later, before Leo could burst a vessel, Jason finally ordered. The wallet he took out looked like real leather, and he sheepishly handed Leo a crisp ten-dollar bill.

"Want the receipt?"

"Sure." Leo ripped it off and handed Jason back his change. Then he remembered that _he_ was the one who had to gather food because Connor and Travis were idiots. When the three of them agreed to apply for jobs together, Leo didn't think it meant staying by himself while the other two dared each other around all night. Leo couldn't even ask the only other employee, Lou Ellen, to help because she was handling most of the drive-thru. Also, she scared him.

"What days do you work?" Jason asked by the counter. He was tapping his straw on the register.

"To stay or to go?"

"Stay."

"... I work Mondays, Wednesday's and every other Friday," Leo eventually said, focusing on grabbing the right burger. "I pick up extra shifts like today. Connor and Travis are supposed to be here too."

"Oh, we saw them at 7-Eleven," Jason added. 

Leo tried really really _really_ hard not to say anything particularly hurtful to the wrong person. Nico haunting the restaurant in the middle of the night was one thing, but the Stolls were a particular type of agitation.

"Here," Leo grumbled, dropping Jason's tray on the counter. "Don't loiter after 20 minutes." 

Instead, Jason didn't move, and pulled a Nico, keeping himself at the counter to talk to Leo. At least he didn't sit on it. "What time do you get off?"

Leo glanced at the clock on the corner of the register screen. "In about 20."

"Then I'll wait for you. I didn't see any cars in the parking lot- did you walk here?" His voice seeped with worry, and with that, Leo's irritation began to crumble. 

"I took the bus."

"Huh." Jason offered Leo some fries the same way Nico did earlier. "I can drop you home if you'd like."

It was tempting. The snow coming down wasn't too bad yet, but Leo's bus ride would be a lot longer. Jason seemed happy to offer. 

Leo then thought about that sexy car Jason had. It was _very_ tempting.

"I'm good," Leo declined. "You should go home- it's getting late."

Jason shrugged. "You sure? It's not a problem. Thalia wouldn't care. Unless Nico's taking you?"

"Nico's 15. He doesn't even have his learner's permit." Leo told him with a laugh. "I'm not even sure how he comes here so late and vanishes. Lou Ellen has a running theory that he's a vampire."

"I can see that," Jason grinned behind a Big Mac. They looked behind Jason, where Nico and Thalia were staring at a phone. It dinged loudly, and Nico scowled at her, muttering to himself, and Thalia whooped, cackling loudly. She sped up to Jason, stealing a few fries. 

"I'm staying at Di Angelo's for a bit." Thalia pat Jason's cheek. Jason frowned, standing straight.

"Wait, _what-_ " Jason blurted, and started bickering with her. Leo turned away, not wanting to get involved. Though he was a little curious, Leo figured finishing off his shift correctly would be the right choice in the long run. 

If Thalia wasn't going home with Jason, then perhaps he _would_ take that ride. Leo hummed happily, thinking about that absolute gorgeous beast of a car, as he cleaned out the fryer.

Fifteen minutes later, and Leo was changed out of his work clothes and waiting for the next person the board to pick up their shift. Saying goodbye to Lou, mentally cursing out the Stolls, and welcoming Cecil, Leo took off with Jason. Thalia and Nico had disappeared, making Leo wonder if perhaps the Grace's were, in fact, related to Dracula, and he'll have to be more careful with going scarfless around Jason.

That implies he would hang out with Jason more, which wasn't in Leo's plans. Leo peeked at the driving blond. Jason hadn't said a word since Thalia left, looking rather peeved and peckish. Nonetheless, it wasn't in Leo's place to intervene. 

...Leo had a habit of running his mouth anyway. "What's up with you? You were all smiley a few minutes ago. Do you not want to drop me home? You're the one who offered."

"It's not that," Jason's voice was tight. "Don't worry about it. Are you warm?"

"Very." Leo snuggled into his seat. He could get used to the luxury life that came with Jason. "It's snowing pretty hard." He peered out the window, only seeing dark shadows and random headlights. "Are you allowed to drive at night?"

"Thalia was my adult," Jason's eyes stayed on the road. Then he coughed, turning red. "I mean, I've driven alone before. I'm a good driver," he added. "There's a curfew, but, uh, Thalia ignore it."

"Who would've known? Jason Grace is a criminal," Leo joked. "Driving around past curfew without a legal adult. You are just falling on the wrong side of the tracks."

Jason's shoulders began to relax at that. He changed his wiper settings, and Leo listened to the low melody of a Christmas song. "It's not _illegal_. Just unsafe."

"Hate to burst your bubble, but this definitely isn't legal. Don't get into an accident, or the cops would arrest us."

"Okay. I'll try not to get into an accident. So the cops don't arrest us."

"Why did you say it like that?"

"Like what?"

"Like I'm not right," Leo couldn't help laughing at Jason.

“I didn’t say you weren’t,” Leo was happy to see Jason stature now fully relaxed. Whatever tension came from Thalia and Jason hopefully wouldn’t bother him anymore. Leo breathed in the warm air from the heater, looking out the window. 

When they reached Leo’s apartment, Jason killed the engine, and for a second, they listened to the sound of snow hitting the car. Leo didn’t want to leave the very comfortable vehicle. Was he allowed to live in Jason’s car? He would if he could.

“Why are you laughing?” Jason’s eyebrows dipped.

“Don’t worry about it,” Leo advised him. He reached to grab his bag from the back. Jason unlocked the doors for him, and Leo opened it. And then promptly closed it. It was cold as balls out there and snowing hard. Was Jason really going to drive in this weather? “Hey,” Leo’s bag sat on his lap, and he started looking for his keys. “Do you want to come in?”

“What?”

“I said,” Leo stopped squirming around, and waved his keys in front of Jason. “Do you want to come in? It’s late. You can sleep over if you need to.” Because Jason turned the car off, the outside air was starting to creep in. Leo zipped up his coat. 

Jason considered what he was asking. “I’d have to call Juno, but I’m up for it. Is there a parking lot nearby? I’ve only dropped off you and Percy before.”

“Yeah, it’s around back. See that sign?” Leo pointed a few feet away. “Round that way. There’s numbers, but you can take a guest spot.”

“Okay, cool,” Jason gunned the engine in all its wonderful perfection. Leo put his seatbelt on, and Jason did his best to navigate out of his current parking situation. “Should you call anyone home, or are they okay with my spontaneous arrival?”

Leo was confused- he’s lived alone for a few months now. But while most of Leo’s friends knew that Jason _wasn’t_ one of Leo’s friends. “No, you’re good. I have a cat, though.”

“Didn’t you used to have some fish?”

“I have a fish too. His name’s Buford. Well technically Buford the fifth but I try not to mention it around him,” Leo said, thoughtfully. “I’m pretty sure Festus is trying to eat him, so I keep an eye out to not end up with a sixth.”

Jason thought that was pretty funny. Leo directed him to a proper guest spot because the snow covered the numbers. Leo ran to the lobby, trying not to get too much snow on him. Jason slipped as he walked, but eventually, they managed to get to the door. 

“It’s _cold,_ ” Jason whined, shivering. “Hurry _up_.”

“I’m _trying,_ ” Leo fumbled with his keys. He slid the wrong one in, “Fuckfuckfuck-”

He eventually got the right one in, and the two rushed into the staircase area. Jason sighed happily, though the foyer wasn’t much better. Jason peered curiously at the small space, while Leo went to grab his mail from the rows of boxes along a wall. Leo’s face began feeling hot, suddenly hyper-aware of the stone floor, and spiderwebs along the ceiling. He wasn’t exactly living in Buckingham Palace.

He looked back at Jason, who stared back. “I’ve never been inside here.”

“Yeah,” Leo mumbled, and he led the other toward the stairs. “I’m on the fourth floor.”

“Is there an elevator?”

“It’s not working.” Leo then hastily added: “And you have legs, lazy ass. Get to steppin’.”

Leo’s closest neighbors (4H) were out and asked him to water their plants. He wondered what were the legal ramifications for allowing Jason to sleep at their place. They had a waterbed and flashier TV’s. 

“Oh,” slipped from Jason’s mouth when he entered Leo’s apartment. Leo did his best to ignore it, but his face was getting hot again. This was a terrible idea. He told Jason to take his shoes off and threw his keys at the nearest table. Festus was lying on the couch and sleepily looked at them. Leo pet his cat and listened to the dull sounds of Jason unbuttoning his coat. He sighed, feeling antsy about the whole thing now. He knew his entire apartment could fit in Jason’s kitchen.

“Do you want the grand tour?” Leo swept his arm out. “Come on. You can leave your coat on the couch.”

Jason (hesitantly) did so and followed him. The floor creaked under his weight. Leo pointed out the minimal kitchen/dining area, his spare closet filled with nonsense, his sole bathroom, and his bedroom. They only needed to walk a few steps. “There’s washing machines and stuff in the basement- oh and there’s a patio by the table, but it’s nothing special. Feel free to raid the fridge. I just got groceries the other day, so there might be something there. I’ll be back in a sec.” He grabbed the water can his neighbors gave him. 

“Okay. I’m going to call Juno,” Jason said. “Make sure she knows I didn’t run away.”

“Funny,” Leo commented and glared at Festus, who was sniffing at their shoes. “If that bastard tries to guilt you into giving him food, don’t. He needs to go on a diet, and HE KNOWS IT,” the last few words purposefully louder so the cat would understand. Festus looked up at him like, _Hmm? Is it perhaps me you’re talking about?_ “You know who I’m talking about.” Leo pointed at him. The ego on this one.

“I’ll be back,” he tossed to Jason, who was already on the phone. “ _Okay_.” He slipped out of the apartment and headed for his neighbors.

* * *

**Jason**

Juno was annoyed, but it was more because Jason was calling before dawn than her step-son’s sudden location change. She hung up on him after Jason mentioned Thalia going to the Di Angelo’s. 

Jason yawned, looking out at the patio Leo mentioned. It was a tiny space. Leo’s entire home was a small space, actually. He wondered when Leo moved and started living on his own. That was the sort of thing a friend would tell each other, wouldn’t it be? 

Leo’s cat- Festus, was it?- meowed by his food bowl. Did that mean he was hungry? Growing up, Jason wasn’t allowed to have pets, so he didn’t know. Jason shuffled around the tiny kitchen, looking through the cupboard for anything that looked like cat food. When he found it, Jason poured some out and watched the orange tabby lick it up. Leo’s fish tank was quaint as it sat on the opposite kitchen counter. He didn’t know why Leo led him to believe there was only one fish- there were six red and brown fish swimming around.

**Thalia:** Di Angelos wanna know if we still have their shovel  
  
**Thalia:** Its the red one lol  
  
**Nico:** Not even home rite now  
  
**Thalia:** Where u at  
  
**Nico:** Leo  
  
**Thalia:** Lol kk  
  


**Nico:** You’re at Leo’s right? Thalia said that.  
  
**Nico:** Yeah Nico  
  
**Nico:** Ok so if you see a copy of Catcher in the Rye, its MINE, try and grab it for me  
  
**Nico:** I don’t ask for favors Grace, but do me a solid here  
  
**Nico:** Leo keeps acting like he doesn’t know what I’m talking about but I KNOW he has it  
  
**Nico:** K  
  


There was a permanent coffee stain on the counter. Jason yawned again. He didn’t know if it was appropriate to sleep on the couch yet. When Jason slept at someone’s house, they were generally prepared for him with a guest bedroom or an air mattress.

The front door opened, and Leo tossed down his watering can. “Yo. Do you take morning or night showers?”

“Night.”

“Cool. There might be an extra toothbrush under the sink,” Leo stepped into the kitchen. “Aw man, did you feed Festus? What the hell, Jason? I gave you, like, one rule.” Leo nudged the cat away with his foot. “You fat fool. I love you, but stop _eating_.” He whirled back to Jason. “Anyway, I’ll leave you a towel and some clothes to change into on the toilet once you hop in the shower. Anything else?”

“That’s everything,” Jason said. “Thanks, Leo.”

“You’re welcome.”

The bathroom had a wide mirror. Leo’s shower tub had a polka dot shower curtain. Jason scanned the shower system, and once he thought he had it figured out, he undressed and hopped in. The water shot out cold, but it eventually warmed up. At the lip of the tub, Leo had a bottle of blue body wash that was labeled _Spring Fresh_ but didn’t smell like anything but clean soap to Jason.

Leo knocked. “So, uh, you’re a lot bigger than me, so I’m leaving a sweatshirt and some shorts if that’s okay.

“Thanks.” Jason peeked around the curtain. Leo left them on the toilet, dug around under the sink, and left.

Jason came out a few minutes later with a Cape May sweatshirt and blue basketball shorts. Leo was nodding off on the couch, but he woke up when Jason sat down next to him. “Holy fuck-” Leo jumped. “Oh. It fits okay?”

“Yeah. When’d you go to Cape May?”

“Never. I thrift,” Leo said. “You have to get up so I can pull out the couch.” They stood, and Leo bent to unflip the cushions. Jason helplessly stood to the side until Leo asked him to push the coffee table to the side. “Your step-mom was okay with you being here, right? I shouldn’t expect sirens and SWAT busting in because I kidnapped Jason Grace?”

“You’re good,” Jason told him. “Nico asked about a book?”

“Ha, when’d you talk to _that_ guy?” Leo stretched to reach the other side of the pull-out couch. He changed into a baggy T-shirt and sweatpants sometimes during Jason’s shower. “He should’ve taken it back when I offered it. It’s mine now.” Leo patted the futon. “Here you go, buddy. I have a comforter you can use if you give me a sec.”

“Thanks,” Jason said again. “Where’s your aunt?”

Besides a slight downward pull of his lip, Leo’s face was calm. “We don’t agree with each other. Don’t worry about it, dude.” Leo stretched with a yawn. “What time do you normally wake up on a Saturday?”

“Eleven?” Jason guessed.

“Mm,” Leo hummed. “What time do you normally go to bed?”

“Twelve-ish. Maybe one or two, it depends.”

“It’s past that. Anyway, I’m beat, so I’m gonna go drop in my bed. I’ll grab you sheets and whatever.”

Once Jason was settled, Leo turned off the hallway light and closed his bedroom door, mumbling to Festus about diets. Now alone, Jason laid on the futon, curled up in the covers, looking at the thin sliver of light peeking from outside the apartment door.

He was annoyed that Thalia left him like that earlier. She was always running off without him. With her, Jason was often left out of the loop until she was already leaving.

Jason was grateful to have been offered a night at Leo’s. Nowadays, Juno either moped around the house sobbing and begging for Jason’s attention, or she was irritable and criticized all he did. Having an opportunity to step away from that was refreshing. It wasn’t the worst thing he’d ever been through, but there was a difference between dealing with Juno when he was twelve versus now. Jason was _so_ close to being able to pick up his stuff and leave. He only had a few months until he turned eighteen, after all.

It was something Jason’s considered for a while now. He’s already received word from his father’s alma mater, and while he hasn’t accepted yet, Jason was inclined to because of the distance. Jason didn’t need Juno for access to money either- he was aware of the savings account tied to his name, so once he turned eighteen, it would be open for him to dip into. Jason’s own debit card was fine for now, plus he always had saved up birthday money. Jason was supposed to inherit some role at his father’s company, but that was being held until he was 21. Besides, Jason didn’t _want_ to do that anyway.

Jason didn’t really have all the logistics of it together, but he knew once he got away, he’d feel free. It was a hasty plan he created over 10 years ago, but he trusted that it’ll come together. Thalia managed to get away for some time, so Jason knew he could do it too.

Things were different, though, from when Thalia left. He wasn’t twelve and docile, his father wasn’t here and resentful, and Thalia wasn’t eighteen and angry. Jason pulled his blankets tighter. Things _were_ different, and Jason had a lot more control over his life.

He fell into a restless sleep, and the next thing Jason knew was that he woke up to the smell of eggs and light slipping onto him from the windows. Jason sat up, causing the futon to creak. A blurry Leo’s head popped out from behind the half-way.

“Mornin’,” Leo grinned. “I made breakfast.”

It had been a while since Jason ate breakfast on something that wasn’t a blank white. Leo’s dishes were in all types of sizes and designs, the plate sitting on the table for Jason was some kiddie plastic plate shaped like a monkey.

“I forgot to run the dishwasher last night,” Leo apologized as he placed his own matching plate. He cooked pancakes, eggs and sausages for them to deal out themselves. “Do you like OJ?” Leo asked from the fridge, shaking a half-carton of orange juice. He poured a glass out for himself.

Jason’s mom used to serve orange juice with breakfast. That was a long time ago. “I’ll pass.”

“Suit yourself.”

They ate in silence, Leo on his phone as he shoveled in pancakes, while Jason either watched his friend or looked out the window. Leo was a surprisingly good chef, and Jason couldn’t remember when he last had scrambled eggs with off-brand syrup on a monkey plate that tasted so heavenly. He wanted to know when Leo learned to cook, or when Leo moved away from his aunt, or even when Leo woke up this morning. Jason wanted to fill up the gaps in their friendship from the past few years.

Leo’s T-shirt was from Guns & Roses. His bed head was awful, slumped straight entirely on the right side of his head. But Leo’s eyelashes were long, eyelids heavy as his eyes darted across his phone screen. As a kid, Leo used to be seen running around with a smudge of dirt or makeup or an injury on his pudgy face. Over the years, he grew leaner and thinned out, his face maturing as his bone structure began to show.

“Dude,” Leo lowered his fork and put his phone face down on the table. “You’re staring. Stop it.”

“Sorry,” Jason looked down at his food instead, embarrassed at being caught.

“You’re not in trouble or anything. It’s just weird.”

“Gee, _sorry_.”

Leo drank some juice before speaking again. “So. How are you holding up?”

“What do you mean?” Jason asked.

Leo sat back in his chair. “You know… with your dad? We don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”

“No, it’s fine.” Jason said. He tried to figure out the right words to tell Leo. “It’s… different. Sometimes I think he’s there, and I remember that he’s not.”

“Oh?” Leo’s eyebrow rose. “Sorry to hear. I remember feeling that way.”

“Did your aunt pass away? I’m sorry for your loss.”

Leo looked disgusted. “As if. I was talking about my mom. I thought you remembered when that happened.”

“Shit, I do-” Now that Leo’s brought up, Jason remembered. It happened around the same time Jason moved to this town. The first few months Jason knew Leo was different from the rest of the time he knew him. “Damn. Sorry for bringing that up again, I know it was rough.”

“It’s fine, I was the one who brought her up,” Leo shrugged. “It was a long time ago. Man, I love my mom to death but I can talk about her without bursting to tears. Which is, uh,-” Leo looked at Jason expectantly, “why I’m kind of confused here, buddy. It took me _years_ to deal with that guilt, but your dad’s body is basically still warm?” Leo forked some more pancakes in his mouth. “Fuck, that was insensitive.”

“You’re fine.” Jason told him. He pushed his plate forward out of habit, and placed his chin in his palm, watching Leo eat. “I don’t know if you remember, but my dad was kind of shit.”

Leo looked a little funny at that like he heard something he didn’t like. “Jason,” Leo said. “He’s still family. I don’t know your situation, but whatever fucked up situation went on, family is still family.”

Easy for Leo to say, Leo didn’t have any family to hate. As soon as he thought that, Jason felt ashamed of himself. That wasn’t fair. Leo was only trying to console him.

“What are your plans for today?” Jason asked him, not trying to be subtle about wanting a different conversation.

Leo didn’t look like he wanted the conversation to be over, but he pressed his lips together and pondered over it. “I’m was going to a party later, and I think Apollo’s probably coming over to complain again. Maybe some homework if I remember again. Why?”

“It would’ve been cool to hang out and catch up.” Jason said. “So, if you were free, I would’ve suggested something, but you’re not.”

“What would you suggest?”

“I don’t know. You’re not free.”

Leo shifted at that. “Let me check something real quick.” He picked up his phone and scrolled for a bit, typing. “Apollo would be up for something if that’s cool. He’s dying to get out of his house right now.” Leo glanced at him. “If that’s cool with you. Just choose a place, and we’ll be there.”

Jason didn’t really know Apollo and would rather be alone with Leo, but anything that kept him outside the house and away from Juno was fine. “Okay. I’ll think of something, and we can meet up later. What time is the party?”

“Um. That’s a great question,” Leo’s face screwed up as he tried to remember. “Dude, it’s a house party at Clovis,’ and he’s such shit at telling people things. I’m going to say… eight or nine? I can skip it though, it’s not that big of a deal. House parties all start to feel the same after a while.”

“So I’ll plan something for today.” Jason affirmed. “Awesome.”

“Cool.” Leo stood up and took the dirty plates to put in the sink. He grabbed containers for the leftovers and paused, looking at Jason weirdly. “No offense, man. But when are you getting out of my house?”

Jason laughed. “Let me help you clean up, and I’m out.

Leo tossed him the containers. “Be my guest. I always wanted a maid like you have.”

“It’s not as great as it seems,” Jason said.

Leo cringed. “Sometimes, Jason… some things aren’t worth saying. Just note that for a second.”

Jason snorted, but he did, in fact, mentally thought that some things aren’t worth saying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i like the idea of double updates again, so that's what i'm aiming for :)


	5. storm clouds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im adding chapter titles because it's annoying trying to remember what happened during which.
> 
> i wasn't going to publish this until ch 6 was done but im a little miserable and don't feel like editing ch 6. so just have this for now ig. 
> 
> mm. not in the mood to write/edit... sorry for mistakes. will respond to all comments later. :///

**Leo**

It was a couple of years since Leo’s been to Jason’s house, and when he waltzed into the mansion, he suddenly recalled why they weren’t friends anymore. This _was_ where it all went down, in the most dramatic and pre-teen nonsensical way. Leo wondered if Jason remembered the way Leo did, but quickly realized he _did_ once they passed the staircase leading to the wine cellar in the kitchen, and Jason glanced at him in the corner of his eye. Jason did not talk about it, thankfully, and Leo looked the other way, pretending to examine the million-dollar paintings on the walls. 

Ultimately, Jason texted his address to Leo, and Apollo drove them over. The snow had stopped earlier about mid-day, and Jason’s neighborhood was coated in a thick and soft-looking blanket of white. Apollo was allowed to park in Jason’s giant garage, while Leo almost fell to his knees from the beautiful cars sitting there. 

They went through the house to grab Jason’s sleds and ice skates. Why he had more that one pair of ice skates in various sizes was beyond Leo, but he knew Jason was trying. They stomped through the snow in Jason’s backyard, going a few acres and past the fence, when they hit a frozen lake and snowy hills.

Leo was sitting on a tree stump, watching Jason teach Apollo to not be afraid of the ice. Every few seconds, Apollo screamed, and Jason had to reassure him everything was fine. Leo took a video, per Apollo’s request (though he probably meant a video that _didn’t_ have any screaming or flailing), and then kicked his feet into the snow. 

Leo’s been here before. When they were younger, Jason, Leo, and Piper used to run here and have snowball fights. They attempted building an igloo multiple times but always failed due to boredom- though if Jason, Leo, and Apollo were to try their hand at it now, they could probably get through it. If Leo had, to be honest, he’d rather not replace his memories of the winter wonderland.

Eventually, Apollo got the hang of gliding on the ice, and he slowly went across it with wobbly legs and Jason cheering at him from the sidelines. Jason jogged up to Leo and asked if Leo wanted to try. 

“Seeing Apollo fall is entertainment enough,” Leo moved over on the tree trunk, and Jason laughed, sitting next to him. “Thanks for teaching him, but ten bucks says he’s going to end up with a bloody nose.”

“I’ll take you up on that,” Jason chuckled. “I have complete faith in my skill as a teacher.”

“Apollo’s a summer child,” Leo shook his head, knowing pretty well that he’s going home ten dollars richer tonight. “You’ll see.”

Jason bent over, packing snow under his hands. Apollo called out to Leo, face pink from the cold, and eyes brimming with excitement. “Leo! Come here! Look!” He started moving at a faster pace.

“I’m good,” Leo called down. He didn’t trust a frozen pond. It might’ve only been about 5 ft tall, but he wasn’t going to risk it. Leo watched Apollo for a few more seconds, and then his attention was diverted to Jason’s slowly growing mound of snow. “What are you doing?”

“Messing around,” Jason got off the trunk and sat in the snow, in front of Leo. The sun glinted off his glasses, and his hat sloppily fell to the side. “Juno’s still in the house, so I’d rather stay out here until my fingers freeze.”

“I can’t believe you don’t have gloves,” Leo pointed at him with his own glove covered hands.

“I misplaced them.”

“Such a silly mistake,” Leo teased him. At seeing Jason’s trembling fingers, his smile slipped, and he rolled his eyes. Ugh. “Come here and give me your hands,” he ushered Jason close. Jason stood in front of him, offering shaking red hands. Leo pulled his gloves off and sandwiched Jason’s hands in between his own and rubbed, offering warmth. “You’re so _dumb_ , you know that? You’re lucky I run hot.”

Jason let out a shaky and short chortle, his breath materializing in front of him. “Remember doing this when we were little? You would breathe on my hands because you were scared I’d get hypothermia.”

“And that one time you _did_.” Leo kept his eyes trained on Jason’s clean fingernails, and that was it. He felt uncomfortable with the images that Jason was stirring. “You were dumb back then too.”

“I wasn’t _that_ dumb.”

“No one in their right mind would make a snow angel in shorts.”

“... That was _one_ time.”

Leo let go of him. He handed Jason his pair of gloves and shoved his own hands in his pockets. “You can use those for now. You can thank me when you manage to go another day without hypothermia.”

“Thanks,” Jason sat back in the snow. Leo went back to yelling at Apollo to be careful- but not _too_ careful because he would like some money. Apollo blossomed under the encouragement and happily grew bolder and bolder.

“Hey, Leo,” Jason said. “Do you remember what we did the last time we were here?”

Leo did. He glared at Jason, perturbed with it being brought up. But Jason was now lying in the snow, making a snow angel (thankfully with longer pants this time). “Why?”

“I was thinking about it when you sat on the trunk,” Jason said. “Middle school was weird.”

Leo was apathetic to Jason’s reminiscing. They stopped hanging out in the summer between 7th and 8th grade. That summer was the first and last of too many things Leo did not care to remember but was now forced to and he couldn’t breathe. His fingernails dug into fleshy palms and he felt hot. _You’ll get through it, Leoncito, close your eyes if it hurts_ , and Leo squeezed his eyes shut. 

“It was,” he heard his voice say. Then something CRACKED, and Leo jumped and was brought back to see Jason sitting up and Apollo lying on the ice. Apollo wobbled, trying to get up, but fell down again, blood everywhere.

“There goes ten bucks,” Jason murmured and ran down to help Apollo. “Stop- oh my God, _stop moving!_ ” 

Leo stood, body feeling too light, and almost fell over. He breathed, slowly, counting, and then when he could grab the feeling in his legs, he jogged to Apollo’s bloody nose.

“Are you okay?” Leo asked. Apollo’s head was tilted to the sky, while Jason was on the phone. Leo tilted Apollo’s head forward. He pinched his nose, motioning for Apollo to do the same. “Hold it down, so all the blood comes out, and you don’t drown.”

“Thank you,” Apollo said. “But did you see it? I did a figure 8. Tell me you got it on camera.”

“Uh,” Leo handed Apollo back his phone. “I don’t doubt that you did it. You’re pretty quick to catch on to things.”

“I know. I’m good at everything.”

“I didn’t say all _that_ , dickhead.”

“I called Lupa, and she left some napkins for us and double-checked if there were pain meds and ice packs for you.” Jason got off the phone and told them. He glanced at the red stain across the ice, the crimson colors glinting in the light. “She already made lunch, so we can eat after we fix Apollo’s nose. Unless you want to go home. Um, Leo, can you drive?”

“I only have a permit, but I can basically drive. It’s not an issue for me.” 

“Well then, that’s an option. _Illegal_ , but an option.” Jason assured Apollo. He offered crumbled napkins from his pocket.

Apollo looked at the two of them like they were crazy. “Did you guys _not_ see that giant mansion? I will stay here and enjoy that funhouse. Also, these smell like french fries,” he handed Leo a bloody napkin to smell, and Leo rolled his eyes going _Man, stop it._

Because Apollo wasn’t in pain, they headed up to Jason’s house, Leo reminding Apollo to stop messing with his nose, Apollo forgetting, and Leo reminding him _again_. Jason was carrying their stuff, and they trudged through the snow in the echoes of their past footprints. 

“You should carry me,” Apollo whined on Leo’s shoulder. 

“You’re not hurt that bad,” Leo grumbled.

“Yeah, but I _want_ you to carry me.”

Leo then loudly offered to carry the ice skates and sled, in exchange for one talkative faux-celebrity, to which Jason smiled at, and Apollo began whining even _louder._

* * *

**Jason**

Jason wasn’t sure if Leo knew it, but he sat in the seat he used to always sit in. Jason warily sat beside him, cautious enough to sit to Leo’s left, rather than the right recliner he used to take. Apollo sat in the front row, turning around and complaining that he didn’t want to be alone. His nose was better now- a furious red, plus he had a few scrapes at his cheeks, but after Leo babied him for six straight minutes, then hissed at him to stop moving, Apollo snapped a picture of the moment and posted it. Jason saw it in his own feed, already with 50,000 likes. 

“If you don’t want to be alone, then just come back here,” Leo rolled his eyes.

“And miss all this glorious screen? Nevermind.” Apollo faced forward.

They sat in Jason’s home theater. After lunch, Apollo suggested a less bodily-involved activity, like watching a movie, and then Leo sarcastically asked if Jason still had a theater. So they argued over what to watch, settling on rewatching _The Office_ because something about seeing adult antics on a giant screen was enthralling. 

After about ten minutes into the episode Apollo chose (Jason’s never fully seen all of the show and Leo didn’t have a preference), Leo was on his phone and Apollo was nodding off. Both were signs that he wasn’t providing a good time to Jason, and that made him anxious. He was the child of entertainment giants, and the grandchild of a global superstar, so he _knew_ that his companions’ best interests were to be placed before his own. 

He was at a loss, and it was _killing_ him. Jason thought coming to his house would make him more comfortable and relaxed, but Jason only felt intense pressure from his house. Maybe it was silly for him to want to hang out with Leo. 

“Do you want to do something else?” Jason asked him. 

Leo looked up from his phone. He leaned to look at Apollo’s dozing state and shrugged. “What can we do?”

“Juno’s home, but we can walk around the house, and you can see what’s changed,” Jason tried. “We’ll have to sneak around, but I think we’ll be good if we avoid her office.”

Leo put his phone away, and Jason was happy that he suggested it. “Okay. If Apollo wakes up, he’ll need a map to find us.”

They quietly slipped out of the theater, Leo grabbing a container of popcorn, and wandered the halls of Jason’s house. Leo was funny, cracking sarcastic remarks about how useless something was or how reckless the Grace’s spending habits were. Jason really did miss that. 

“Did you ever get a bouncy house in the playroom?” Jason was asked with a mischievous smile.

“No, but there’s more arcade games downstairs. And we have another pool table.”

Leo scowled at him. “ _Another_ pool table. Get a load of this guy.”

They stopped by the piano room because Leo was intrigued by some of the light spilling out from the open door. It was from the large windows, giant beams of sunlight stretching across the room. 

“Apollo would love this room,” Leo said. 

The room in question only had three walls, the final one being made with floor-to-ceiling windows. A grand piano sat away from it, so the pianist would have their sheet music lit up from the sunlight. Along one of the walls was a giant portrait of Jason’s mother, her face painted in thick and carefree black and gray strokes. The other wall was where they mounted some of their instruments and had a closet door where the rest were tucked away beyond the closet door. 

“Do you still play?” Leo nodded to the piano.

“Do _you?_ ”

“I’m not the one with this beauty collecting dust here.” Leo swiped his finger across the black piano body, rubbing his thumb and index finger together, shaking his head disapprovingly. “You still play other things?” He waved his hand toward the instruments lining the walls. They were mostly the string instruments, except for the abandoned harp, which had long been pushed into the closet from lack of use and the amount of space it took.

“Would you want me to play you something?”

“I don’t know,” Leo leaned on the piano, chin in hand. “Are you any good?”

Jason reached for the cello. He took lessons on this particular instrument with Nico and Hazel, throughout elementary school. It was the first instrument he moved from private lessons from his parents and tutors in their old California mansions, to being classically trained by a teacher who didn’t live with him, while learning alongside someone who wasn’t Thalia. Cellos were heavy- grounding for Jason.

“Interesting choice,” Leo remarked. His eyes flew over the wall of instruments. “Is that your go-to?”

“For now.”

“Okay. Show me what you got, Beethoven.”

Jason checked if it was tuned, and with his bow, he began playing something that egged him in the back of his mind. Creating music came easily to Jason because it was in his blood. He was born and bred to entertain, to be the best, and damn it if Jason was anything less than perfection. His movements needed to be perfect, not a single hesitation, not a wrong note. The thing about music was that it was easy to tell when someone played from the heart, and Jason had been trained to spill his whole fucking _soul_ out in each measure. 

When he was done, Leo blew out air from his cheeks. “ _Shit,_ man, I almost started crying. That was one of your mom’s, right? From her album?”

“Yeah,” Jason looked away, rubbing his bow’s strings between his fingers. Beryl Grace was best known as being an actor, but she had released a solo album before Thalia was born, and a single or two after that. By the time Jason was two, he had heard all of her music to the point where his first words were _la la la_ , to the melody of her most famous song. He could play them all like it was apart of his DNA and knew all her lines in her movie and tv show appearances- Jason had flickers of his mom in his head, but she was always dancing and singing, dancing and singing, dancing and singing through his mind, with himself, maybe two or three years old, watching her with wet eyes.

Jason only has small memories of her death. Somethings were missing- like someone swiped them from his brain- and other things were crystal clear like he was there. He could see the sirens, feel a seatbelt restraining himself, yet feel the grass underfoot, and even hear camera clicks. But not the whole image- never the whole. Flickers. Living snapshots. Jason knew what the newspapers had said, but it wasn’t enough. There was a video, somewhere, that he _knew_ his father had tried to get rid of all evidence of. Jason’s never seen the video, but he was sure Thalia and Juno and his father have, and they kept it from him, mocking him and his missing memories, taking away Jason’s last part of his mom. 

Leo’s never met Beryl Grace. She passed when they were six, and two years later, Jason’s family moved from their Pasadena mansion across the country to Jupiter’s hometown after the marriage between Jupiter and Juno. That’s when Jason met Leo and became Jason’s first friend.

Jason put the cello back. “Want me to play something else?”

“You can if you want,” Leo murmured. “You think Apollo realizes we left him?” 

And though Jason didn’t really want to, because he got a rush from playing solely for Leo’s eyes-, he said- “We can check if you want.”

Leo wavered and then stepped away from the piano with a sigh. “Yeah, we should. He’s like a baby and needs to be coddled every so often.”

Jason tried to mask his disappointment but led Leo out. “A baby?”

“Yup. He’s all goo-goo gaga and shit.”

“Since when have you met a baby?”

“Since I met _you_.”

“I’m not a baby.”

“Not anymore. You’re a baby who had a diamond spoon in his mouth.”

“It was never diamond- solid gold? Maybe. But never diamonds.”

“Oh my God, tell me you’re joking.”

Jason laughed. “Obviously- why would anyone give a baby a gold spoon?”

“Dude, I never fucking know when it comes to your rich ass.” They hit the theater, where Apollo was awake and laughing along to the confessional onscreen. Hearing the door open, he turned around in his seat and gave them an accusatory look over the back of the recliner.

“You left me here!”

Leo looked at Jason, trying not to laugh. “Don’t throw a temper tantrum. Jason was just giving me the tour while you were sleeping.”

“I wanted a tour,” Apollo’s bottom lip stuck out, and he looked incredibly hurt. “You could’ve woken me up.”

“Sorry, but I like my life too much,” Leo retorted. “We weren’t even doing anything. Jason was playing some instruments and junk.”

As if hearing his calling card, Apollo brightened and happily glanced at Jason. “Instruments?”

“Um. Yeah. There’s a room with them.”

“ _Take me_ ,” Apollo demanded, hopping out of his seat. “I’ve got to see this.”

Now a trio, they headed back to the music room. Apollo, in his neon yellow Nike hoodie, looked very out of place in the plainly and modernly decorated whites and blue accents of Jason’s house. He looked around at anything his eyes can catch sight of, with a face of wonder. Leo and Jason hung back a little, Leo snickering at Apollo’s reactions.

“You know, you acted like that ten years ago,” Jason bumped him.

Leo made a face. “That’s because I was short- don’t say shit,” Jason was half a foot taller, and he just gave Leo a closed mouth simper, and looked Leo up and down with raised eyebrows. “Man, I _swear-_ Jason, you’re _asking_ for someone to beat you up,” Leo stuck his hands in his sweatpants pockets. “It’s funny seeing other people’s reactions, though. Apollo’s house is a little big to me, but he doesn’t have a bowling alley.”

“ _I_ don’t even have a bowling alley.”

“ _Yet_.”

Apollo gasped at seeing the piano room. He whirled and gave Jason a strange look of envy and surprise, checking him out for the first time. “You’re Beryl Grace’s kid? Holy _fuck_.” His eyes flickered from the wall painting to Jason, impressed. “I love your mom- how did I not know that? Leo-” Apollo furiously glared at him like Leo severely betrayed him. “-why didn’t you _say_ something? What the fuck? We’re not friends.”

Leo said, clearly entertained. “Not my story to tell. I thought it was obvious.”

Apollo practically danced into the music room, “Holy- I am moving in.” He reached out to touch a violin and then hesitated. He turned back to Jason, who was sitting on one of the stray benches. “You’re telling me _the_ Beryl Grace touched these?”

“Some of them,” Jason was a little curious, but immune to Apollo’s response. He didn’t bring his friends over very often, but most reactions turned out like this (except for Octavian and Reyna, the former scoffing and the latter asking a few questions but then never brought it up again). “The rest are my grandmother’s, my stepmom’s, or my father’s. Except for those.” He pointed at colorful kid-sized versions of some of the instruments at the bottom mounts of the wall. “Those were for Thalia and me to learn on.”

“Your grandmother...?” Something clicked in his head, and Apollo took a giant leap back. “You’re telling me freaking _Terra_ , _Jupiter Grace,_ and _Juno_ touched these?” He looked faint, and his head swiveled to Leo. Leo had sat on the piano bench and was soaking up Apollo’s reactions as if he was the one who was related to Jason’s family. “How have you _just_ introduced Jason to me? What the _hell?”_ Leo began laughing really hard, and Apollo flicked him the bird.

Apollo then came to Jason, on his knees. “You _need_ to let me play one of these. I’ll give you anything. How much would it cost? Tell me, man. I will do _anything_.” He pleaded.

“Go ahead,” Jason shrugged. “They’re not here for show.”

“ _Holyfuck_ ,” Apollo stood up and held up his fist. Jason fist-bumped him, and Apollo grew ridiculously giggly. He then saw the open closet, and his excited noises began to border along obscene. Jason and Leo exchanged a mirthful look, Leo mimed moaning, and they burst out laughing. Leo hit a G on the piano, and Apollo jumped. “I’m gonna play _that_. Leo, here- Livestream this.” He almost threw his phone in his enthusiasm and pushed Leo off the bench. 

Leo stared up at him from the ground. “You’re trying it.”

“Come on’” Apollo pleaded. “You _know_ how much I want this.”

Leo tsked at him, standing up and opening Apollo’s phone. Jason moved his own seat by the window to see Apollo run through his scales quickly and warm-up through a speedy rendition of London Bridge is Falling Down. Jason patted the seat next to him on the bench for Leo, but Leo shook his head, smirking toward Apollo. 

“Ready?” Leo asked. 

“Yeah. Tell me when you reach a good number.” Apollo turned to Jason. “Do you mind being in the video? Only a few people will see it. It’s not prime posting time, so no one’s online.” It was only 3 PM on a Saturday, but Jason didn’t know what time was ‘prime posting time.’

“Sure,” he agreed.

Leo stopped making faces at the camera and shot Apollo a thumbs up. Apollo launched into an excited and cheerful introduction that was probably memorized but came out naturally. He then grinned, stating, “- and I’m now friends with Jason Grace? The son of the queen and the legend herself?”

Jason waved at Apollo’s orange Dragon Ball Z phone case. Leo tried not to laugh. “Someone asked when Jason turns 18. _Lots_ of hearts.”

“Inappropriate,” Apollo admonished the camera as Jason gaped. “Anyway, in honor of the late Beryl Grace, I’ll be playing one of her songs.”

“What?” Jason wasn’t aware of that. A flash of worry came across Apollo’s face, but he was professional enough to cover it up by rolling up his sleeves.

“Unless you have something else?” He asked Jason softly. 

“No, it’s fine.”

Apollo said something his followers and Leo moved closer. Then Apollo wiggled out his fingers and began to play. Jason’s breath hitched. It was the same song Jason played earlier except it was _good._ Apollo was really fucking _good_. 

The thing was- Jason knew what a virtuoso sounded like. His father grew up playing music, and Juno had been a musician before she stopped to marry his father. Jason was skilled from playing since birth, and he _knew_ famous musicians, but _Apollo?_ The way he took to the keys was utterly effortless. Ethereal. It was as if Apollo managed to caress the essence of music and make it blossom in his hands, coaxing out art. It was something Jason’s father could do, and Jason consistently failed to do for reasons he never understood. But Apollo- this guy Jason barely knew and tried too hard in everything else- could achieve it instantly? 

The song itself wasn’t even his mom’s hits. It was mellow and soft, broken and melancholic. Deep in her nine-song album, track 6, too vulnerable for the radio. She played it on repeat during rainy Sundays, swaying and twirling like she was Stevie Nicks, in love with her music and Jason, loving her. He didn’t like how Apollo could lure those memories out of him- didn’t care for how Apollo could stir emotions like that. 

And then, Apollo started to sing, and Jason was filled with unbridled fury. 

It wasn’t fair. Jason was supposed to be the best. His father would not expect anything less, and when Jason couldn’t deliver, there was a problem. Jason tried _really_ hard to reach what his father wanted, and for Apollo to do that so artlessly? For a stupid livestream? 

He looked to Leo when Apollo reached the chorus. Leo was quiet, silently recording, head swaying along. Jason’s played for him before, and he’s never seen _that_ face. Jason licked his lips, swallowing, wiping his hands on his jeans. He could hear his heart beating. Could everyone else hear it too? 

Jason wanted to understand. He didn’t understand. Why was Apollo so good? Why was Jason so bad? It didn’t make sense. He was his father’s son, and his father was nothing but efficient. Jason’s head was filled with thick cotton, but words and his parents’ voices kept jumping out at him. Nausea built, a nasty taste of something indiscernible creeping across his tongue. Jason didn’t understand. It didn’t make sense. Jason Did Not Understand, and It Scared Him. 

“Wow,” Jason said when Apollo finished. Behind him, in what was left of his mind, something was rushing, something brewing, something tempestuous. Apollo looked appreciative at the compliment, and beamed at his audience, saying a goodbye.

“Hope I did your mom some justice,” Apollo took back his phone and let out a whistle. “That many? Wild.”

Leo gave Jason an imperceptible look as Apollo went through his comments. He bumped Jason’s shoulder, knuckles against Jason’s sleeve. “Yo.” He then told Apollo, “Will texted during the stream, saying something about needing to be driven.”

Apollo flipped down the fallboard. “If he wants to go on some lame coming-of-age date like he’s in a teen rom-com, then he needs a new chauffeur. You want to come and chaperone the kiddies with me?”

“Nah,” Leo said. “You saw the cars in Jason’s garage. Your car can barely climb a hill.”

“It’s _electric_ ,” Apollo complained, causing Leo to scoff. Jason had a feeling they’ve argued about this before. His chest felt tight- no, that wasn’t right, it was stabbing, piercing- thinking about that and all he’s missed with his friend. Not cotton- cloudy, choppy, conflicting. Apollo caressed the piano and nodded at Jason. “I owe you my life from this. Can we meet up later?”

“Maybe.”

Apollo didn’t seem to have any problems with the answer. “‘Kay, thanks. I’m going to head out before Will and Nico get busy in my room,” with an unpleasant look on his face, Apollo kept typing with one hand as he glanced toward Leo. “Send me your book notes, Leo. Okay, I’m out. Bye, guys!”

“It’s his room, too,” Leo called out to him. Now alone, Leo moved away from Jason. He scrutinized him for a second and then, once making a mental decision, rolled out his shoulders. “Soooo. Do you wanna play something else? I still like it when you play. Apollo’s good, but I prefer you.”

Jason gave Leo his best smile. He was still shaken up from Apollo’s performance (for some reason), but Leo somehow knew what to say. Yet, Jason could practically see the glaring orange of Apollo’s fingerprints left on his piano, polluting his mind, unlocking something Jason didn’t know existed. 

“I think we’ve heard enough today,” Jason decided. “Do you want to see the arcade games downstairs? We have Speed Racer. It’s two-player.”

Leo’s jaw dropped. “You have _what?_ Why aren’t we there now? Lead the way, Boy Wonder.”

* * *

**Leo**

What the fuck was that? Leo’s heard Apollo play before- he never shut up- so the performance wasn’t a surprise. But what _was_ a surprise was Jason not breathing for two minutes, looking like a statue, and like he was going to kneel over. What the fuck? And then he started shaking? Even now, Jason seemed disconnected, back of his neck slick with sweat as they walked downstairs. 

Leo’s seen it before, maybe once or twice when he was at a group home for a short time. The one in charge, Nyssa, was a complete wreck sometimes. He felt as helpless as he did then. It wasn’t his problem, was it? Jason and him… there wasn’t anything left there, was there? Leo supposed they were friends, but they weren’t _that_ close. Fuck. Leo cared, of course- Jason was still a person. Childhood friends were different, weren’t they? Fuck. He wished he could’ve helped more. All Leo did was divert the camera away from Jason. Fuck. 

He didn’t think he was the help Jason needed, but Leo felt as if he should offer Jason something. Fuck. _Shit_. 

Instead, he grinned as Jason showed him the stupid game room. Fucking- _fuck._

 _That’s okay, Leo, try again_ , a voice whispered through his head, but Leo already felt disgusted. What _could_ he have done? 

Leo was very conflicted.


	6. friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me: how can i make this world seem a little more expansive  
> me 10 mins later: mmm tratie backstory in the thickest fucking paragraphs
> 
> ((oh god, not me putting the wrong date for the chapter cause it was supposed to come out in may lmao))

**Jason**

He was sitting at the kitchen table. It was bright. Very bright. The blinds were open, and light glared in, not in its natural glow but like a white-hot star was in his yard. Jason needed to turn away. 

Despite the brightness, his father sat at the table writing. It was only Jason and his parents. His mom was cooking french toast- Jason couldn’t see it, but he knew- her head tilted back, and she swayed on her feet. Music was playing, something Jason knew, something familiar. 

His mom sat down with a plate of food, and his father said something to her. It was wordless. Someone muted Jason’s world except for the music. Very familiar. It was at the tip of his tongue, he could practically _taste_ the syllables rolling off his tongue-

A plate was pushed in front of him. Jason looked up, but his mom was already in the fridge. He ate, quietly, and his father shuffled his papers around. His mom took out a glass, a champagne flute, and poured out the champagne, mixing it with orange juice. She finished it off and said something to his father. He grew angry and pointed at Jason. His mom yelled back, hand gesturing to herself, the other arm flung out to Jason. Jason wanted to know what they were screaming about and what he had to do with it.

His father said something that even Jason knew must’ve been shitty, because his father recoiled immediately, and his mom turned away, and her hands trembled as she poured out more champagne. Jason’s father addressed him, and Jason opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He felt like he was floating. The music grew louder. Jason’s father snatched up his papers and left.

Jason and his mom listened to the music, now alone. His mom said something and when Jason couldn’t respond- and how _could_ he, all he heard was that godforsaken _music_ \- she filled his cup with juice. He could not identify what it was, because his vision was blurring the more he drank, and it tasted familiar but not quite right. It was neon yellow, though. His mom closed her eyes and began to dance. Jason was entranced. 

Bright. The more she spun and swung, the brighter Jason’s world got. Shining brighter and brighter and brighter, until Jason’s world was engulfed in white, and he saw his mom drop to the ground, and Jason cried out, he really did try, but nothing came out of his mouth.

He felt hot. Sweltering, blistering, heat wave type of _burning_. And then he heard: 

“I don’t want it,”

And Jason woke up, crying. 

* * *

**Leo**

So this is what happened: Travis and Katie liked each other a lot, and everyone but themselves knew it. They met in elementary school when Katie wanted to join a kickball game, and Travis told her that it was no girls allowed, and then that day he found out that she was about to become a red belt in Martial Arts, and that the school nurse did not have sympathy for little boys who were mean to little girls. A week later, Travis ran around the school wearing a gei, and Katie was furious. A few months later, at a boys-only-no-girls-allowed-except-for-Annabeth-because-she-was-cool sleepover, Travis whispered to Leo that he might _like like_ a girl, and Leo’s mouth opened, and everyone at the sleepover knew (except for Percy but it was his own fault for drinking so much juice before bedtime and he needed to pee _really_ badly).

When they were in middle school, Travis and Katie were the first ones to “date.” She gave everyone in the class a CVS-bought Valentine, but Travis’ was special because it was handmade and had an extra piece of candy. There was a rumor that the two had kissed outside of school at a birthday party- but that rumor was proven to be fake because it was _actually_ about Percy and Rachel Elizabeth Dare, which was _still_ fake. After all, Rachel Elizabeth Dare never grew out of her cootie phase. 

It didn’t matter anyway because, on the first day of seventh grade, Travis and Katie strolled into their class, holding hands and wearing matching friendship bracelets. It was painfully apparent to everyone that _something_ had happened that summer, and in exchange for a few IG follows, someone’s iTunes gift card, and a shit ton of Slim Jims, Connor Stoll explained that they were on the same team at sleepaway camp (it was Reds vs. Blues, and Blues won that session) and _that’s_ when it happened. He never clarified what ‘it’ was, but he really didn’t need to.

Anyway, their seventh grade went into a frenzy, and everyone whispered about dating and kissing. Suddenly couples were popping up left and right—even Leo dated (December to July in secret). At the epicenter of it all, Katie drew hearts around **K+T** , and Travis wasn’t allowed to play soccer anymore because he was distracted from staring at her and lost too many games. When they broke up, the entire grade was at a standstill.

Travis’ birthday came around, and he turned 13. Leo, personally, was not surprised to know that Katie was invited, but was surprised that she actually came. She handed him a present and asked to see him outside, and when the boys went _oh shit_ , Travis went red, and they left the basement together- Katie’s bangle bracelets bought from Justice leading Travis’ completely dumbfounded self. Leo couldn’t remember what happened to Travis that day (his memories focused more on the pool party with Jason and Piper swimming with him), but the next time they were in school, Katie was giggling about a TV show, and Travis gawked at their linked fingers sitting on the desk as if he was going to implode. 

After that, they dated on and off (mostly off) for the rest of middle school and into high school. To Leo’s knowledge, the longest the two weren’t dating was the summer between 10th grade and 11th grade because the Gardner’s went on vacation to France and Travis saw her making out with some French dude with gorgeous brown eyes on Snapchat, and got pissed (despite them being on a break anyway) and broke up with her from another continent. She called him stupid, reminded him they were on a break, and he didn’t own her, and Travis cried about how he wanted her back for five hours on the most irritating Skype call between Leo, Nico, Hazel, Shane, Chris R, and Calypso. Hazel wasn’t even invited- she was just in the room with Nico, and Connor was there for a big but called Travis a pussy and left the room. It was all pointless because by the second week of school, Travis and Katie made up, and from about 8 different camera angles, they were caught making out in the back of a school bus. Leo called him trashy for that, and Travis said he didn’t care because at least _he_ was making out with someone, to which Leo told him that he’s kissed before (and Leo has, but that was not important), and Travis shrugged and said he went to third base with Katie after one of her soccer games, and Leo kept quiet.

“Why are you telling me this?” Leo questioned. “I was fucking _there,_ like shit.”

“I love her so fucking much,” Travis said. It was Travis’ birthday, and he turned 18. He invited a few friends over because his parents were celebrating his mom’s 50th birthday as well in Aruba. To Leo, it just sounded like poor parenting, but it wasn’t any of his business, nor was it in his place to comment. “I think I’m going to marry her.”

“Ugh,” Leo groaned. “You’re starting to sound like- shit, like you-know-who.”

“Shut up,” Travis snapped, but he couldn’t deny it. The you-know-who in question ran and jumped into the pool, splashing everyone in the deep-end. He came up to the surface, cheeky grin in place, and paddled over to his girlfriend sitting at the edge of the pool, and Annabeth offered him some of her chips.

Leo would never forget that moment when Percy, out of nowhere, said during intermission to their school’s rendition of _The Crucible_ , that he wanted Annabeth to have his kids and Leo could not _possibly_ comprehend what about a play on the Salem Witch Trials and girls dying made Percy think this. Nico told Percy to Shut The Fuck Up, and Percy grinned, and they kept standing in line for snacks, going back to the conversation about how overpriced the cupcakes were. Travis and Leo later found it hilarious, when they were smoking at the cast party (the one they weren’t invited to), and called Percy a lot of names (none of them stuck), and found that Annabeth’s nickname, Seaweed Brain, should’ve been changed to Daddy Brain. 

“But I’m serious,” Travis put down his Pepsi. “I’ll propose, and she’ll love it, and then we’ll get married in the summer, but her naggy mom won’t be invited, and then she can become a vet or whatever, and I’ll be-”

“-what are you talking about?” Slender freckled arms laced over Travis’ shoulders, and he tilted his head up to kiss Katie. She patted his chest. “Happy 18.”

“Thanks,” Travis didn’t even have the shame to mask him checking her out. Katie was wearing a two-piece bathing suit, the bottom green and the top red and black like a watermelon, with a thin unzipped hoodie on top. Leo’s gaze lingered on her pierced belly button, and then he took a long drink from his wine cooler because he remembered when she got that, and Travis sent him _very_ explicit texts. Leo personally had a different opinion towards navel piercings.

“I’m going upstairs,” Leo babbled. “The chlorine is killing me. Fuck, oh my god. I don’t wanna see this. You. Like, being you. Gross. Get a room, fuck.”

“Okay,” Travis’ eyes never left Katie. “See you then.”

Leo stumbled upstairs to the living room where the party originated from. Connor was the only one there, watching _Kim Possible_ , sitting wrapped in a towel and with wet swimming trunks. Half of the couch was covered in winter coats from the people downstairs, so Leo sat on the carpet next to Connor’s legs. The coffee table in front of him was covered in dirty paper plates and forks, and the center had the nearly finished birthday cake. Leo took the bowl of cheese balls and sat it in his lap.

“This is, fucking, a good episode,” Leo commented. 

Connor leaned forward to grab a handful of cheeseballs. “Yeah. Shit always gets better when you’re old.”

“Not everything.”

“Like what?”

“Dunno. Fucked up shit, like- like,” Leo squeezed his eyes shut. “Oh my God, my throat hurts.”

“You’re drunk, Leo. You’re normally good at holding it, though.”

“Yeah, no shit, fucking… Sherlock Homie over here,” Leo pushed his fist down into the bowl, crushing the snacks. He licked his knuckles, tilting his head back on the couch. “I love you, Connor, you know that? I fucking love you, man.”

Connor pulled Leo’s hood over his head, covering Leo’s eyes. “I’ll tell my parents you’re sleeping over.”

“M’kay,” Leo sat like that for a bit, listening to the sounds of Kim Possible kicking ass and things exploding. The villain, Dr. Drakken, cried at his foiled plan, and Kim gave a terse response and a commercial played. Leo sat up, pulling his phone out. 

**Leo:** We shojuld talk  
  
**Jason:** Whats up 😅  
  
**Leo:** You reimnd me of a fucking superhero i guess  
  
**Jason:** i do 🤔  
  
**Leo:** Yeah??  
  
**Jason:** Whats up with uuuu  
  
**Leo:** Its travis’s birthday. The big18.  
  
**Leo:** Remember when we shared vbirthday parties? That lwas legit. I imss that shit.  
  
**Leo:** When we shared birthdayp arties?*  
  
**Leo:** You know  
  
**Jason:** Yeah I remember  
  
**Leo:** Fuck jlemme juts call you  
  


Leo called Jason, and he picked up immediately. Connor headed toward the kitchen, and he heard rushing water.

“ _Hey_ ,” Leo reached for one of the half-finished abandoned beer bottles sitting on the table. Burning, throat warm. Or he was warm, and his throat burned. It didn’t matter.

“Hi, Leo,” Jason said. “What’s up?”

“Nothing.”

“Then, why did you call me?”

“I don’t know,” Leo ate some more cheeseballs. “I was thinking about you the other day. Fuck, do you like cheese balls? _God_. So like, you’re the shit? I don’t know. You were really shitty back then. Mm. I don’t get you.”

Jason laughed at him, but Leo didn’t like being laughed at. He reached for another bottle with some effort but accidentally pushed it off the table, spilling it onto the carpet. Fuck. The Stolls were going to kill him. He wondered if he could blame Dakota. Leo reached for the birthday cake instead. 

“What don’t you get about me?” Jason asked.

Leo laid his head on the table, fingers slipping as he put Jason on speakerphone. He wiped a random plastic fork on his sweatshirt and started in on the cake. “You still hate me, don’t you? Like, I remember what happened, but we never talk about it, but fuck-, you wanna be my fucking friend all of a sudden, which is- is so _shitty_. I don’t like you. You’re fake.”

“Why is it shitty to be friends again?”

“‘Cause you hate me,” Leo mumbled. “You left me with her.”

“Piper? I didn’t know she was going to move.”

Leo sucked on his fork. “Are you going to Hazel’s birthday thing tomorrow?”

“Yeah.”

“Nico invited me. She’s so fucking sweet. Love Hazel. Fucking cool. I wanna hug her or somethin’.” Leo drew circles on the coffee table glass. “Horse girl- Nico said their dad was getting her a horse. Good for her, but fuck, I mean, a _pony_. Oh my God.”

“Do you want a horse?”

“Noooo.”

Jason laughed again. Leo smiled to himself, because he _did_ like Jason’s laugh, despite how much he’s trained himself to be immune. “Are you watching TV?”

“ _Yeah_ ,” Leo said. Connor crossed through the living room with a giant garbage bag to clear the trash. Connor looked at him strangely, mouthing _Jason Grace?_ “Connor was watching it. He’s here now.”

“Connor Stoll? Hey, Connor.”

“Hey,” Connor said and left the room again. Leo groaned, eating more cake. He peeled his cheek off the glass, rubbed his face, and drank some more, though much slower than he did when Travis’ birthday was initially kicking off. His excitement started to fall off, and exhaustion and sadness began to overwhelm him.

“Do you want me to pick you up?” Jason asked him.

“If you want,” Leo said. “I hate you so much. _Fucking-_ ”

“I’m really sorry, Leo,” Jason said. Connor came back with his garbage bag. He ignored Leo’s whining and dumped the leftover frosting, and Leo weakly batted at his legs. “But you know I don’t hate you, right?”

“I don’t… I _kinda_ wanna talk about it, but I _don’t_ wanna talk about it. Can we start over or somethin’? You’re making me- fucking, I don’t know, like, sad as shit.”

“Okay. We don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”

“I dunno.”

“Well,” Jason lets out some kind of breathy sigh. “I’m on my way, and I’ll take you home, okay? Hang tight, Leo.”

“‘Kay.” Leo murmured. His knees came up, and he hit his forehead against them, arms around his shins. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I’m sorry, Jason, I’m sorry.”

“Why are you sorry?”

“You know.”

“... I don’t.”

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” 

“... I’ll be there in about fifteen minutes, Leo. Please don’t drink anymore.”

“I’m sorry.” Leo reached over and hung up. He kept hitting his head against his knees, his mind a mess of jumbled thoughts and random memories. He shivered and then sat back, legs spread out in front of him and under the now-cleared table. Connor was sitting on the floor next to him. 

“I love you, man,” Leo told him. 

“I know,” Connor looked at him. “Jason’s picking you up?”

“Yeah.”

“Are you two friends again now?”

Leo dropped his head on Connor’s bare shoulder. He still smelled like chlorine, and it wasn’t doing Leo’s stomach any favors. The coolness of his skin helped a little. “I think so.”

“That’s good. You were different for a long time after you and Jason stopped being friends, and Piper moved away.”

“... Can I get some water?”

“You’ll have to get off of me.”

“... Nevermind.”

* * *

**Jason**

Over the past few weeks, Jason confirmed the following things about Leo Valdez:

Leo’s birthday was a week after his, and when they were kids, they shared birthday parties. They were both 17 until July. Leo hated his full name. His favorite color was red. He still talked to Piper McLean. Leo could cook. He lived alone. He did not speak to his Aunt Rosa or cousin anymore, it seemed. Leo didn’t like reading. He had an unusual interest in reptiles and John Deere machinery. Leo needed to be reminded about times and deadlines numerous times. He didn’t turn his work on time but could manage to get it in the day after. Leo liked 70s and 80s music- Jason’s grandma included- and was a decent dancer. Leo kept leftovers in old butter containers and mix-matched Ziplocks. He drank a healthy amount of water, though he always had a full jug of iced tea in the fridge. Leo disliked talking about work unless he brought it up. He only had one dimple. Leo chewed his lip when he was nervous, and his eyes moved constantly. He had thick eyebrows but long lashes. Leo talked loudly, and his voice sometimes still cracked.

Jason knew a fair amount about Leo Valdez. He did not, however, know how Leo felt about him. The night before, Leo rambled about hating him and how Jason must’ve hated him, and how he was sorry for God knows why. Leo fell asleep in his car before Jason could ask, and they didn’t talk about it. 

Now, Jason was sitting at Hazel’s birthday event and staring across the room where Leo was bickering with Calypso and Nico. He sighed, wanting to go over there, but deeming it too weird because he wasn’t _really_ friends with any of them. Nico might’ve been his cousin, but they weren’t _that_ close. And Jason still didn’t know where he was with Leo. 

“Can you not sigh like that?” Octavian glared at him. “You’re fucking depressing.”

“He’s depressed _and_ depressing,” Reyna modified. She placed a reassuring hand over Jason’s. “Whatever it is, we can talk about it.”

“I don’t care,” Octavian said. He dipped a shrimp in cocktail sauce. “We can talk about _anything_ but Grace’s problems.”

“You’re helpful.” Reyna deadpanned. 

“If he wants to mope around during Hazel’s birthday, then that’s on him,” Octavian said. “I’m going to get more food.” He got up, dropping his cloth napkin on the table. Reyna waited for him to leave and then turned to Jason with a concerned look.

“Is everything alright with you, Jason?”

Jason tore his eyes from Leo and onto Reyna. Her usually braided hair cascaded over her back in inky curls, showing the studs in her ears and a slender neck. Reyna’s eyelids were covered with something shimmery and golden, her eyes traced with pointy black eyeliner. She sported a silvery dress that clung to her body, gold glittering over her chest and a slit in the dress reaching her mid-thigh. Reyna really was… regal, Jason supposed. Classy and beautiful. He saw that a few years ago when they dated, and he saw that now.

“Jason,” Reyna squeezed his hand. “Are you okay?

He pulled his hand away from the table. “I’m fine. How’s Hylla?”

“She’s good. Tired from work, but good,” Reyna pressed her lips together. She had on a dark lipstick. “How’s Thalia?”

“She’s somewhere here,” Jason said. “You know how she is.”

“I’ll have to find her then,” Reyna stood up. “Text me if you need anything?”

“Got it.” Jason was alone at his table. In the center of the table was a 15 in bold glittery numbers, nestled in a party favor exploding with curly confetti. Their table was spread across the ballroom, Octavian arguing with a server, Reyna hugging Thalia, Gwen and Dakota saying they went to the bathroom half an hour ago, and Jason sitting by his lonesome. Juno was talking with Hazel’s parents, wearing big Prada shades to conceal her identity- as if everyone at the party didn’t know.

When Jason was little, events like these were fun. His father would bring Jason and Thalia to an album release or cast parties, and Jason would play with Thalia or the other celebrity kids the entire night until he fell over with exhaustion and woke up in his bed, forehead warm from a goodnight kiss. After Jason’s mom died, those parties grew scarce, and Thalia wanted less to hang around her little brother, and more to get out of the house as much as possible. 

Hazel’s birthday parties typically looked like this. She didn’t care for the extravagance now- only really wanting to chill with some friends- but when she was about six, she demanded a giant princess birthday, and her dad (Jason’s uncle) lovingly fulfilled that expectation every year. It was silly to be envious over a 15 year old’s birthday, but Jason _was_. To Jason, the Di Angelos- and Hazel’s last name was technically Levesque, but the reason why never mattered- was an ideal family. 

“ _Heeeeey, cuz,_ ” Percy sat down next to him with a glass of apple juice. “You’re boring. Why are you sitting here staring at the floor like that? It’s weird.”

“Maybe I was about to get up until you stopped me.”

The first few buttons of Percy’s green shirt were open. “Yeah, but you weren’t. What’s going on with you?”

“Nothing.” Jason said. “Don’t you have an Annabeth to get to?”

“Why would I know? My life doesn’t revolve around her.” At Jason’s unconvinced look, Percy drank his juice, sheepishly averting his eyes. “She went to the bathroom, and Grover didn’t come because he has mono.”

“Is Grover _okay?_ ”

“I mean… it’s _mono_. He’s as okay as anyone with mono.” Percy said. “ _My_ whole thing is that a few days ago, Juniper had mono too, but Grover keeps denying anything.”

Jason knew that. Juniper was in his English class, and the other day she slept through class, complaining about her throat. “Why are they denying it? Everyone knows they’re dating.”

“Right?” Percy drummed his fingers on his glass. “But what’s weirder is that Tyson _and_ Ella both had mono too last week.” Tyson was Percy’s little brother, and Ella was his only friend (besides Percy, of course). “And I asked Tyson if he knows how he got it, but he kept making the face.”

“The face?”

“ _The face_ ,” Percy made, what Jason assumed, was the alleged face. It didn’t look like anything, but Percy was also lousy with acting and facial expressions. 

“Oh, _that_ face,” Jason said. “What if it’s a coincidence?”

“I don’t know, bro. That’s what I’m trying to find out.” 

They chatted about little things after that, neither wanting to talk about anything serious, but also not wanting to sit in silence. Jason didn’t speak to Percy much outside of Thanksgiving and the occasional school event, but it was nice to talk to his cousin. They might have gone to the same school, but they were in different social circles- and it was hard to take someone seriously after you’ve seen them get chewed out by their mom. 

“I know we don’t talk much,” Percy said, mirroring Jason’s thoughts. “But I’m sorry about Uncle Jup. I wish I could’ve come to the funeral.”

“Er, thanks,” Jason didn’t know what else to say.

Percy’s face was solemn, expression blank and hard. “My mom made some curry and coleslaw to bring over, but Auntie Juno didn’t allow anyone over, so it spoiled in our fridge.”

“That sucks. Your mom is good at cooking.”

Percy shrugged. “Cooking? It’s my _mom_ , so of course, I like it- and no one can say otherwise- but her baking skills are top-notch. She’s been baking a lot ever since Uncle Jup. You see Hazel’s birthday cake? That’s a Jackson cake.”

Hazel’s birthday cake had three tiers, pink and purple frosting and little white beads to mimic pearls. The topper was a silver 15, and Hazel’s name expertly drawn in cursive with icing. “No wonder.”

“Yeah. My arms still hurt from mixing, but it turned out real nice.” Percy smiled. Jason was now confronted by the fact that Percy _really_ loved his mom, and it showed. The Jackson’s loved each other, the Di Angelo’s loved each other… what did that say about the Graces? Percy looked past Jason, and his smile slipped into a wide grin. “Well, Annie’s back, so I’m gonna go. And stop looking like such a bummer- like shit, Jason. It’s a _party_.” They fist-bumped, and Percy left to catch up with Annabeth. 

Jason got up after that because, for some reason (and he hated to say it), Percy was right. Sitting alone made that awful cloud come back to his head. He made eye contact across the room again with Leo but headed to the food table. Avoiding Octavian poking around the different types of rice, Jason lingered by the salad.

“Are you _really_ that health-conscious?”

Jason inspected the dressings. “Does it matter?”

Leo pulled out the Blue Cheese and handed it to him. “Do you see anyone else eating a salad? How are you even a teenager?”

“I like being healthy.”

“Why are you lying to me? You’re the biggest pig out there. Don’t act like your cabinets aren’t filled with thirty flavors of Doritos right now. You have Cheeto stains on your shirt right now.”

“No, I don’t,” Jason laughed.

“Yeah, but you had to think about it, didn’t you?” Leo leaned back on the table, observing the party. “You can’t stare at me from across the room, dumbass.”

“I wasn’t staring at you.”

“ _Right_ ,” Leo had a glass in his hand, the liquid the cider’s color and bubbly. “About yesterday…”

“Don’t worry about it,” Jason ate. Octavian went back to eat at their shared table, while Reyna danced with Thalia and her friends. For a second, Juno’s head faced Jason, but it just as quickly, tilted away to laugh in cue with her conversation. “You needed a way home. I wanted to get out of the house. It all worked out in the end.”

“Yeah, but- I don’t, I don’t need you to do anything like that. I can take care of myself.”

“You were drunk.”

“So? Connor would’ve let me sleep over.” Leo rolled his head around. “I’ve been drunk at the Stolls before. I don’t need a babysitter- especially not from you.”

Jason faltered. “I wasn’t trying to be a babysitter. I was being your _friend_.”

“I didn’t ask for that.” 

“Yeah, you _did_.” 

“Jason!” Hazel rushed over, raising her arms to hug him. Jason lifted his plate out the way, and Leo stepped to the side. Hazel smelled of cocoa butter and cotton candy. Her glittery dress left Jason sparkling when she pulled back. Her hair had been straightened for the event, but some time during the party, Hazel tied it up in a bun behind her princess crown. “I’m so happy you could come. I wasn’t sure with everything that was going on, but Thalia told me you were going to be here.”

“Of course, I would come. Happy birthday, Hazel,” Jason said. He tossed Leo a look- they weren’t done talking- but Leo looked at him over the rim of his glass and shot at Jason’s chest with a finger gun, and walked away. Jason sighed, instead focusing on his cousin. “What are you going to wish for?”

Hazel looked embarrassed. “I don’t know yet. Birthday wishes are silly anyway.”

“Sometimes,” Jason said. “You look nice.” Hazel’s dress was purple, and poofy, cut at her stocking-clad knees. She had a few silver and gold bracelets glistening on her wrist, and gold necklace with _Hazel_ in cursive. Hazel’s ears weren’t pierced, but she had fake butterfly studs, ones Jason recognized as an old birthday gift from his sister (when Hazel turned 11, right before she became obsessed with horses). Hazel beamed at the compliment, and she pat Jason’s arm.

“You look good too!” Hazel gushed. “I like your watch- is that the one my dad gave you last year?”

“Yep. I’m glad it still works.”

“Me too. Me and Nico took _forever_ trying to pick it out. Nico kept complaining the entire trip,” Hazel’s face soured. “Were you and Leo about to start fighting? It looked like you were arguing.”

Jason’s tomato fell off his fork. “No? I don’t think we were arguing.”

“It _looked_ like you were,” Hazel said. “I don’t want to see my friends fight.”

“Well I can promise you that we won’t fight,” Jason assured her. “How do you know Leo?”

“Um,” Hazel folded her arms, scratching at her shoulders. Her fingernails were painted glossy black. “He and Nico had a fight in middle school, and they became friends after that.”

“But I _knew_ Leo in middle school, and I don’t remember that.”

Hazel seemed uncomfortable, scratching faster. “Um, it happened after that, um, you and Leo stopped talking to each other. I just remember Nico being in seventh grade when it happened.”

Nico was a year younger than Jason and Leo. “Oh, thank you,” Jason moved one of Hazel’s itching hands from her skin. At that movement, Hazel relaxed and dropped her arms entirely, folding them together in front of her. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Hazel nodded. “Nico was at a bad point back then, and it still freaks me out.”

“He’s lucky to have someone like you with him.”

“Yeah,” Hazel repeated. She bit her lip and glanced away. “Don’t cause any problems, Jason. I _know_ you and what you do.”

Jason didn’t know what she meant by that, but Hazel was carted away by another family member before she could explain. Jason dropped his food off in search of Leo. He wanted to continue that conversation with him from earlier. 

* * *

**Leo**

The snow reached his ankles, and Leo was irritated that he chose to bring out his single pair of dress shoes for Hazel’s birthday instead of his snow boots. That was stupid of him. He wanted to look fancy, and for what? Bullshit.

He would say he was surprised that Jason found him, but that would be a lie. Over the past few weeks, Leo’s grown to expect the guy following him like some lost puppy.

“Do you wish we stayed friends?” Jason asked him. He was wearing a brown coat, left unzipped, and his hands in his pockets. His collar was folded under his jaw strangely. Leo stared, and then coughed, dropping his joint in the snow. Fuck. He stepped on it, grinding it under his stupid dress shoes.

“No.” He muttered. 

“I do,” Jason prattled. “Octavian is a bad best friend.”

“That’s your problem, not mine, buddy. I can’t help it if you make bad choices.”

“He’s still my _friend_ ,” Jason sighed, watching Leo’s fingers pull out a pack of gum. Leo reluctantly offered, and Jason unwrapped the strip of gum before continuing. “It was different when you and I were friends.”

“Was it?”

“Yeah.”

Leo pushed off the brick wall and faced Jason entirely. He leaned in and reached to fix Jason’s collar. His cold fingers brushed Jason’s jaw, who shivered. Leo’s hands patted down the jacket, and he dropped his hands. 

“Thanks,” Jason said, voice weak. “But now I’m going to smell like weed.”

Leo suppressed the urge to laugh at him. “It’s not the worst thing to smell like.”

Jason laughed out loud, however. He shook his head. “See? If you were Octavian, you would’ve told me to shut the fuck up.”

“Maybe I should’ve.”

“But, you _didn’t_.”

“Well, shut the fuck up,” Leo told him. They looked at each other and began to giggle. “ _Wow_.”

Jason’s hands came out his pockets, and he drummed them against his thighs. “Okay, so we _are_ friends then.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“And why not? How have we _not_ become friends over the past few weeks?”

Leo tried not to think about just how much Jason Grace he’d been absorbing over the past few weeks. He needed to have a daily limit at this point. Leo was starting to find it funny, considering _he_ was the lost puppy growing up. Back then, Jason was practically his favorite superhero. Now? The dude was just an eager Clark Kent. 

Leo supposed Superman had a complicated relationship with Batman anyway. (Not to imply that Leo was _the_ Bruce Wayne. That would be cool, though.)

“You’re so _weird_ ,” Leo laughed. “Oh God, do you want us to make friendship bracelets too? Should I call my mommy to tell her about my new BFF? Do you want us to get those matching heart necklaces, so we always have a part of each other wherever we go?”

“I don’t want to be friends with you anymore,” Jason groaned. “I forgot you’re a dick too.”

“No, no, now that you’ve got me on the friendship train, we’re going full speed, man.” Leo cackled. “The _whole_ nine yards. Let’s have a secret handshake and code names-”

“Please stop,” Jason said.

“We’re B-F-F’s,” Leo told him. 

“Nevermind. Let’s not talk to each other again.”

“First, you want to be friends, and now you’re friend-breaking up with me?” Leo began to fake cry. “You’re the worst. I’m calling my lawyer.”

“What friends do you know need a lawyer for a friend-break up?”

“Dunno. They deserve one.”

“Who is _they_?”

“Dudes who admit they’re friends because one of them is needy and now that same guy wants to have a friend-break up. This has been an emotional rollercoaster for me,” Leo slumped over on Jason’s shoulder. “First, you fill my heart up with light, and then you rip it out again? That’s cold. Stone cold.”

“I get it, Leo.” Jason sounded happy, though, and Leo pretended like _that_ didn’t make him happy. He grinned to himself, trying not to get too giddy. He didn’t think that someone as dumb as Jason could make him happy, and yet? 

There Jason was. Making him grin like an even bigger idiot. Shit. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [before you go, please consider donating to any of these bail funds for protestors.](https://bailfunds.github.io/) now is not the time to be silent, and if you could donate to help these people, that would help with the fight. the black community has lent itself to fandom, and it would do good to amplify those voices screaming about injustice. being black is _not_ a choice. ignoring black people, especially now, however, _is_.


	7. thalia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> feel free to "hide creators style" if u feel, ur not missing anything!

**Jason**

**Yesterday** 10:39 PM  
**Jason:** I’m bored  
  
**Jason:** I wish you had an iPhone so we can play something  
  
**Jason:** Also green text 🤢🤮🤧  
  
**Leo:** Jason it’s 10 PM  
  
**Jason:** Sory were u sleeping  
  
**Leo:** No  
  
**Jason:** Oh 😶  
  
**Jason:** 😆 what were u doin lol  
  
**Leo:** Does it matter? What time do you go to bed?  
  
**Jason:** 🤔 Lets seeeee  
  
**Jason:** Around 1ish 😣😳  
  
**Leo:** It’s a school night  
  
**Jason:** Not really  
  
**Jason:** It’s the day before break  
  
**Leo:** Still a school night  
  
**Jason:** 🤔 what time do u go 2 bed  
  
**Leo:** … 3ish  
  
**Jason:** HA 🤣🤣🤣  
  
**Leo:** Yeah but I work, you choose not to go to bed  
  
**Jason:** 😑  
  
**Jason:** Ur so mean   
  
**Jason:** What are u doing for break  
  
**Leo:** Netflix  
  
**Jason:** -and chill 😈🥵💦  
  
**Jason:** LOL thats nice tho 👍🏻  
  
**Leo:** Yep  
  
**Jason:** … youre not gonna ask me about my break 😒😢  
  
**Leo:** No, if I wanted to know, I’d ask  
  
**Jason:** 🤬👊🏻💥  
  
**Leo:** Lol  
  
**Leo:** Jason  
  
**Leo:** What will you be doing over this winter break? 😊  
  
**Jason:** 😁  
  
**Jason:** Nothing!!!!!  
  
**Leo:** …  
  
**Leo:** Y  
  
**Leo:** What was the point of this Jason  
  
**Jason:** Lol I thought it was funny haha 😂😂, but i was gonna do somehting  
  
**Leo:** Why did you make me ask if you weren’t doing anything  
  
**Leo:** Oh  
  
**Jason:** We were gonna go on vacation  
  
**Leo:** What were you gonna do  
  
**Leo:** Ok  
  
**Leo:** Where?  
  
**Jason:** Uhhhh cant remember lol 😜😝😋  
  
**Leo:** 😒  
  
**Jason:** Yuh lol it didnt happen cause Thalia ran away and Juno got annoyed lol and i told her i didn wan to go  
  
**Jason:** Didn't want* so now Im gonna stay with Percy for the week  
  
**Leo:** You’re nearby then  
  
**Jason:** Yup 😋😋😋  
  
**Jason:** You could come over and shit 🤩🤯  
  
**Leo:** Come over purely to shit… how nice is the Jackson bathroom cause I may consider it  
  
**Jason:** 😑 thats not what meant 😞😡  
  
**Leo:** LOL, I will only visit y'all if I need to take a shit  
  
**Jason:** 😒 Duude  
  
**Leo:** Wait, what did you mean by Thalia ran away?  
  
**Leo:** Jason?  
  
**Leo:** Oh, okay, gn :)  
  
**Yesterday** 11:12 PM  
**Jason:** LOL I was taking a shwr haha  
  
**Jason:** sjower*  
  
**Jason:** Leo  
  
**Yesterday** 11:38 PM  
**Leo:** What?  
  
**Jason:** You disappeared 🙄🤦🏼♂️  
  
**Leo:** I was eating  
  
**Jason:** Who eats dinner at 11:38 pm 🤔  
  
**Leo:** That's not when I was eating that's when I texted back. Also myob  
  
**Jason:** What’d u aet  
  
**Leo:** Um  
  
**Leo:** Takis and oatmeal  
  
**Jason:** Wtf lmao 😂😂  
  
**Leo:** What's up with Thalia?  
  
**Jason:** Nothing  
  
**Jason:** Oh she just disappeared lol  
  
**Jason:** Said she wasn’t coming back until the 1st and then left 🤷🏼♂️  
  
**Leo:** That is so...  
  
**Leo:** Sorry man.  
  
**Jason:** DW she does this all the time 😂  
  
**Leo:** Really?  
  
**Jason:** ...I mean yeah, but like, sisters do this all the time lol. Its just Thlaia doing her ig 🤷🏼♂️🤷🏼♂️🤷🏼♂️   
  
**Jason:** lol Thalia* 😂  
  
**Leo:** No, sisters don't do that.  
  
**Leo:** So she ghosts you  
  
**Jason:** WHAT???? No? LMAO Leo 😂  
  
**Leo:** Dude that's so fucked up, why don't you see that?  
  
**Jason:** 🤔😬  
  
**Jason:** I feel like you’re misunderstanding the situation  
  
**Leo:** Alright, then explain.  
  
**Jason:** Okay one sec  
  
**Today** 12:42 AM  
**Jason:** Thalia likes to go on long trips randomly. Um, she just likes to travel, but my father and Juno used to be up her back about it and super controlling so she doesn’t tell anyone about it. It’s not that huge. She always comes back so I don’t care 🤷🏼♂️  
  
**Leo:** Wow.  
  
**Leo:** Ur so white omfg  
  
**Jason:** 😑😞  
  
**Leo:** So she doesn’t even tell you about it? When’d she start disappearing?  
  
**Jason:** Ummmm like middle school  
  
**Jason:** Yeah, she graduated around then  
  
**Leo:** Does she ever call you?  
  
**Jason:** Uh at the end of a trip to tell me when she’s coming home 😅  
  
**Leo:** Dude that's like so fucked up  
  
**Leo:** I would be pissed. She can't keep leaving you like that with your shitty parents.   
  
**Jason:** It her life 🤷🏼♂️😕  
  
**Leo:** Well how do YOU feel about it, because it fucks with you too  
  
**Today** 4:57 AM  
**Jason:** Sorry i fell asleep lol  
  
**Jason:** Um  
  
**Jason:** I wish she didtn leave me out of stuff but we have different interests so its fine  
  
**Jason:** I guess.  
  
**Today** 7:46 AM  
**Leo:** Dude, what time do you wake up?  
  
**Leo:** Why the fuck did you text me at the beginning of time wth  
  
**Leo:** Did you beat the crows up or something?  
  
**Jason:** I thought it was roosters 🌝  
  
**Leo:** I thought they were hens  
  
**Jason:** U just said crows 🌝  
  
**Leo:** Just let me make my joke Jason  
  
**Jason:** lol 😅  
  
**Jason:** I go on morning runs  
  
**Leo:** Why would you do that to yourself  
  
**Jason:** My dad used to run in the mornings. Probs picked it up from hmi  
  
**Leo:** Did Thalia also run in the morning but never come back  
  
**Jason:** Dude.  
  
**Jason:** What the fuck.  
  
**Today** 8:32 AM  
**Leo:** Sorry Jason that was really shitty of me to say  
  
**Jason:** Its ok I laughed about it after thhat  
  
**Leo:** I'm sorry  
  
**Jason:** its fine 😁  
  
**Jason:** Hey if we can talk about my sister then u gotta tell me about what happened to your aunt 🧐  
  
**Leo:** No  
  
**Jason:** Cmon pleaseeee 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼  
  
**Leo:** no  
  
**Jason:** 🥺  
  
**Leo:** Some stuff happened and she wasn’t able to take care of me. That's it.  
  
**Jason:** What hapenned  
  
**Leo:** It doesn't matter. I moved out  
  
**Today** 12:18 PM  
**Jason:** Don't u need to go to court for something like that. Were you emancipated 😳  
  
**Leo:** Yeah  
  
**Jason:** Oh  
  
**Jason:** K...... lets talk about something else then 😋  
  
**Jason:** Sooooo 😏  
  
**Leo:** I'm in class  
  
**Jason:** You txt in class all the time 😟 Txt me 2!!!! 😋  
  
**Leo:** Not with you  
  
**Jason:** Am i different? 😢  
  
**Leo:** 😐  
  
**Jason:** But i like texting u in class. Makes me feel dangerous 😈😈😎😼  
  
**Leo:** I'm turning on do not disturb  
  
**Jason:** You wouldntt  
  
**Jason:** Leo  
  
**Jason:** Leooooio  
  
**Jason:** :(   
  
**Read** 12:45 PM

**Author's Note:**

> Like all my fics, comments and [my tumblr](https://bunkernine.tumblr.com/) are open for anything: thoughts/criticisms/questions/feelings/suggestions etc. Literally anything you want. Unless I get busy, I typically do my best to respond which is why my comments are always inflated haha. 
> 
> *summary to change
> 
> thanks for reading, have a good one :)


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